ARCANE SCHOOLS by John Yarker, part 2 of 4 ASCII VERSION

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WITH the close of our last chapter Philosophy had begun to
play an important part upon the stage of ancient Mystery, and the old spiritual
faith of Isis, Osiris and Horus, was becoming still more subtilised by the
restless Greek at Alexandria, under the rule of the Ptolemies. Here was established a new, or fifth
order of priests with the title of Prophets, and the Mysteries of Isis, Serapis,
and Anubis became the favourite Arcani.

Ptolemy
Philadelphus assembled a Council of Jews, alleged to be 70 in number, for the
purpose of translating their scriptures into Greek, which version is yet known
as the Septuagint. He also treated
with Asoka in regard to the doctrine and progress of Buddhism.<<Erest de
Bunsen.>> A wide eclectic school was
to be established, under which the existing faiths might be assimilated, and the
secret and sublime Mysteries of the School were those of Serapis. How this succeeded may be gathered from a
letter of Hadrian, Emperor 118 A.D., to the Consul Servianus, preserved by
Vopiscus<<"Vita Saturnine.">>, in which we find the following, of the Egyptians:
"They who worship Serapis are Christians, and such as are devoted to Serapis
call themselves Bishops of Christ" . . . . ("another translation has it"):
"those who call themselves Bishops of Christ are vowed to Serapis; there is no
ruler of the Jewish Synagogue, no Samaritan, no priest of Christians, who is not
an astrologer, a diviner, and a charlatan.
Their Patriarch himself when he comes to Egypt is by some forced to adore {154}
Serapis, and by others Christ. . . . . They have all but one God, Him the
Christians worship, Him the Jews, Him all the Egyptians, and those of all other
nations."<<"Herodian's History" (J. Hart, 1749). p. 184.>>

Between
the years 300 B.C. and 300 A.D. Alexandria was the seething cauldron whence
mystic learning spread over the world: -- Mysteries, Cabala, Theurgy,
Gnosticism, Alchemy, Astrology, and even Christianity, for it is said that "out
of Egypt I have called my son." The
philosophers termed themselves Philalethians, or Lovers of Truth; and the
numerous societies which we shall mention in this chapter have much interest,
but we must mention them in the briefest possible manner: in many cases
successions exist to this day.

CABALISM. It is quite probable that this system of
interpreting the Jewish Scriptures was a part of the instruction of the
Beni-Hanabiim, or sons of the Prophets, alluded to in "Samuel." According to Clemens Alexandrinus these
Colleges consisted of classes designated Sons and Masters, and he observes that
there were Novices amongst the Levites, and that Converts were divided into
Exotericii or proselytes of the gate, and Trinisecti or proselytes of the
covenant -- Perfecti. We are
informed by the "Book of Esdras,"<<"Esdras ii," c. xiv, 8>> that Ezra the Scribe
dictated to five men, during a period of forty days, books to the number of 204,
of which 70 last written, were to be hidden, or Apocryphal, and confined to the
"wise amongst the people." The gist of the Cabala is expressed in
the words of Philo, who says that: "The law of Moses is like to a living
creature whose body is the literal sense, but the soul is the more inward and
hidden meaning, covered under the sense of the letter." The Mystery is divided into "three
veils," and is said to have been delivered by Moses orally to the Levites and
Elders, from whom it descended to the Rabbis. The two grand Pillars of the temple of
Solomon were important symbols, and Franck says that upon entering the first
veil we are in the Vestibule; in the second the Holy-place; and in the {155}
third the Sanctum Sanctorum. The ten
Sephiroths, which represent the descent of creation from the Divine, are also
divided into three classes which remain an indivisible trinity. The first three express the intelligible
first manifestations; the second triad the virtues or sensible world; the third,
nature in its essence and active principles. As a system it admits of a perfect
assimilation with the wisdom-religion of the old nations. It was prescribed in the "Mercaba," and
the Chaldean "Book of Numbers," that the Neophyte was to be led to a secluded
spot by an Ancient who whispered in his ear the great secret.
The "Sepher Jezirah," which it is argued from astrological allusions therein to
be as old as Abraham, says: "Close thy mouth lest thou should speak of this, and
thy heart lest thou should think aloud; and if thy heart has escaped thee bring
it back to its place, for such is the object of our alliance." The European Jews had an association
called the "Order of Elijah," which is said to be mentioned in the "Mishna" and
"Gemara," it had passwords, signs, and countersigns, and is believed to have
been in existence in Poland and Saxony at a very early period.<<"The Kneph"
(Mackenzie), i, p. 28.>> The Masonic
Royal Arch Degree has drawn on the Cabala and Talmud, but periodical revisions
have taken place.

ESSENES. This important mystic sect amongst the
Jews has puzzled historians. It may
have struck out a new path from the Cabalistic road, but the extreme veneration
of its members for the sun is more characteristic of Chaldea, and of the
existing Yezids. Jewish critics
believe that they are the Assideans, Chasdim, or old believers allied with the
Maccabees; they afterwards divided into two sects, or the practical, and
contemplative members. Other writers
consider that they were Egyptian priests, driven into Syria by the conquests of
Cambyses of Persia, and Alexander the Great, and it is very probable that this
may be partly correct, and that they may have included Jesus ben Panther, a
nephew of Queen Salome, who after studying Egyptian Theurgy, and preaching to
the people, {156} was proclaimed for 40 days, and then stoned to death, and hung
on a tree at Lyda, about the year 100 B.C.

The
Essenes are said to have recognised eight (some say ten) spiritual stages of
ascent to beatitude; and they had, like the Pythagoreans, a system of degrees
with a probationary period between each.
Their doctrines were delivered orally and they took an oath of Secrecy,
Chastity, and Justice in all their dealings.
When addressing their Chiefs they stood with their right hand below their chin,
and the left let down by the side.
As the Pythagoreans assembled in companies of ten, so also the Essenes
considered that ten made a lawful assembly for divine worship, but this
resemblance may derive from still older societies.
The Roman Collegia and English Guild Masonry were ruled by tens and hundreds. Ernest de Bunsen, whom we mentioned in
our second chapter, holds that amongst the Egyptian and Jewish Gnostics there
was a twofold tradition which passed into Christianity, and that it had the
doctrine of a spiritual development which transformed them into "living stones,"
hence denominated "Banaim," or builders, that is of a bodily temple, and
therefore they neglected the material temple of Jerusalem.

A
select class of the Essenes were termed "Therapeutae" who were healers, and
dwelt in small cottages wherein was an inner shrine used for contemplative
purposes. They kept the Sabbath,
and, every seventh time seven, they had a special service with Mystic dances,
such as we have referred to in the Mysteries.
Philo says: "They have impulses of heavenly love by which they kindle, in
all, the enthusiasm of the Corybantes, and the Bacchanalians, and are raised to
that state of contemplation after which they aspire. This sect had its rise in Alexandria,
before the Jews were very numerous, and spread exceedingly throughout Egypt."

Eusebius, the Christian historian, has some curious remarks on the sect. He says: "Their doctrines are to be found
among none but in the religion of Christians, according to the Gospel.
Their meetings and the separate {157} places of the men and women at their
meetings, and the exercises performed by them, are still in use amongst us at
the present day, equally at the festival of our Saviour's passion . . . . it is
highly probable that the ancient Commentaries which they have are the very
writings of the Apostles, and probably some expositions of the ancient Prophets,
such as are contained in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and many others of St.
Paul's Epistles." Josephus had personal knowledge of the
sect, and makes mention of Books which were kept secret, referring to the "names
of the Angels," which may mean powers or attributes, and reappearing in the
Arcane Discipline. We must remember
also in connection with Eusebius' mention of the Saviour's passion that the
weeping for Adonis continued in Syria down to the fourth century A.D.

There
can be no doubt that a Christianised form of the Mysteries was continued by the
Monks, and we have the testimony of the Fathers to this effect, but we might
expect that these would vary in the country where they were practised; thus we
might expect to find the influence of Adonis in Syria, of Serapis in Egypt,
Dionysos and Bacchus in Greece and Rome, and throughout the Roman Empire the
influence of the rites of Mythras with the before named.

It
would appear, however, that there were branches of the Essenes, and Therapeutae,
who became actual Christians -- as Nazarenes, Ebionites, and Nabatheans, and the
first term is yet in use in the East to designate Christians, who first took
that name at Antioch. Theodoret
says: "The Nazareens are Jews, honouring the anointed as a just man," and using
the Evangel according to Peter, portions of which were discovered a short time
ago in Egypt, and a litle later fragments of the "Logia of the Lord."
The Ebionites were a portion of the sect, and had amongst them relatives of
Jesus, and used the Gospel of Matthew, derived, it is believed, from the
"Logia;" they dwelt in a region near the seat of the Adonisian Mysteries; they
looked upon Jesus as assuming his apostleship at the {158} descent of the Holy
Spirit, and that his Messiahship would begin with his second coming.
The Nabatheans were followers of the Baptist in Lebanon, and the Books of
this Sect yet exist in Syria.
Marcion, who left Rome, about 140 A.D., would seem to have followed the
Gospel of Luke. Eusebius, St.
Jerome, and Epiphanius have asserted that these sects were branches of the
Essenes, and there is no doubt that several of the sects, which were eventually
classed as Gnostic by the Church of Rome, proceeded from them.<<Jones' "Ecc.
History.">> We will, for
convenience, before proceeding with the Gnostics, take the secret system of
Platonists who Christianised themselves.

ARCANE
DISCIPLINE. This system was in vogue
in the church of Christ between the first and fourth centuries of our era. For a clearer comprehension of the
subject we must consider what has already been written in regard to the
assimilation of Philosophy and the Mysteries, more especially the Serapian, and
these to esoteric Christianity; that there is a great identity between these
cannot be doubted; nor that Arcane Christianity was the essential adoption of
Serapian rites. Tertullian, Origen,
Cyril, Theodoret, Gregory,
Chrysostom, and others, all allude to these Arcane things, in the precise terms
in which the Philosophers spoke of the Mysteries.
Basileus says that they kept their doctrines secret, their preaching was
public; that is, it was esoteric, and exoteric, as the Philosophers held the
Mysteries to be. Cardinal J. H.
Newman holds that the Arcanum was the introduction of Platonism into the church
of Egypt, and he mentions that Ammonius Saccus and Origen were Catechists of the
Discipline, and that when the former established an eclectic school of his own
he swore his disciples to secrecy.
The historians are in doubt whether Ammonius forsook Christianity, or not, upon
founding his School; but, in any case, such a man would give more than he
received.

The
grades of the System are given by some writers as follows: -- Catecomonoi or
learners; Pistoi or faithful; {159} Photozomenoi, illuminated or baptised;
Memuemenoi or initiated; and Teleioumenoi or perfected.
But Bishop Warburton, quoting Casaubon in his 16th exercise on the Annals
of Baronius, gives the degrees as follows: -- Catharsis or purified; Myestis or
initiated; and Teleosis or the end; but remember the relationship of "telete" to
death. Casaubon says, "that which is
called a symbol of faith is various in its kinds, and they serve as tokens or
tests, by which the faithful may recognise each other."
Minucius Felix says that the Christians were known to each other by signs and
tokens, which were a ready pass-port to friendship.<<"Morals and Dogma" (Pike),
p. 547.>> Rufinus compared the use
of pass-words to those given by a general to his army. Clemens says: "Let the engraving upon
your ring be either a dove, emblem of the Holy-spirit; a palm-branch, peace; an
anchor, hope; or a ship running, the church; or a fish." A French writer on Masonry, stated last
century that a copy of the Secret Constitutions was in the possession of some
Monks on Mount Athos, as late as 1751, and that they were as old as 327
A.D.<<"Mac. Adoniramite," i, p. 69.>> The church itself was divided into three
portions; the Nave for the Catechumens, as was the Vestibule for initiates of
the Lesser Mysteries; the Aisles for the Faithful; the Chancel for the
Perfected.

When
the Catechumen had completed his probation, which was usually of two years, he
was apparently a Pistos or probationer, and had to fast for 21 days, as usual in
the Mysteries; his shoes were removed and all his clothing with the exception of
an undergarment, and with a lighted taper in his hand he was led into a room
adjoining the church. Prior to
Baptism, the aspirant, with his hand raised aloft, and face to the west, or
place of darkness, thrice renounced the devil and all his works; then with his
face to the east, or place of light, he thrice declared his belief in the
doctrines he had been taught, and his intention to remain a soldier of Christ. The Exorcist thrice breathed upon him, in
the name of Father, {160} Son, and Holy-spirit, requiring all unclean spirits to
depart from him. A prayer was
offered that the element of water might be sanctified; and the operator breathed
upon him, in expression of the
Holy-spirit. After this he was
anointed with oil as a wrestler in the faith; his forehead was signed with the
cross, and salt tendered as emblem of divine wisdom; his ears were touched with
the word Ephphatha -- "be opened," his eyes anointed with clay. He was plunged three times in the water,
in the name of each person of the Trinity.
He assumed a new name, and was clothed in a pure white garment, and led
amongst the Faithful; from whom he received the kiss of peace; but for seven
days he had to go veiled. He could
now attend service in the aisles as one of the Photozomenoi and was instructed
in the full mystical meaning of the Lord's prayer, which he was enjoined to
repeat thrice every night, as well he was instructed in the esoteric doctrines;
this probably made him one of the Memuemenoi, that is those who are in the
light.

The
High-mass of the Eucharist was usually celebrated at Easter, or the festival of
darkness and resurrection. In the
Jewish equivalent whilst the fully initiated pronounced mentally the sacred name
with the priest, the masses knew only the substituted word Adonai, chanted by
the assistants. In the Church, the
Deacons brought water for the Ministers to wash their hands, and the kiss of
peace was passed round from the priest, the men and women to each other
respectively. The priest offered
thanks for the love represented by the death, resurrection, and ascension of
Christ. Before entering the chancel
the priest exclaimed: "Holy things for holy persons, ye Catechumens go forth."
Bread and wine were presented. Pliny
states that in the Agapae, or Love feasts, all took a sacred oath to be
faithful, reveal no secrets, do no wrong, nor steal, rob, violate a trust, nor
commit any act of unchastity. The
communicant was now one of the Teleioumenoi or Perfected.
There are several points in {161} this account that we have already related as
ancient customs of the Mysteries.

No
explanation is given of the reason for a long fast, and as this account is but a
mystic form of the present exoteric ceremony, we may feel a strong doubt whether
it covers all that was done, in the various grades of becoming a Christian. The New Testament repeatedly admits that
Jesus had a secret or Mystical teaching, and something may be gathered from the
Fathers. Clemens Alexandrinus, who
wrote a century after Apostolic times, says: "But it will be an image to recall
the architype of him who was struck with the Thyrsus . . . but we profess not to
explain secret things sufficiently; far from it, but only to recall them to
memory." Again he says: "And was it
not this which the prophet meant, when he ordered unleavened cakes to be made,
intimating that the truly sacred mystic word, respecting the unbegotten and his
powers, ought to be concealed."
Origen, whom Socrates in his "Ecclesiastical History" terms the
"Expositor of the mystical tradition of the Church," and flourished 185-252
A.D., taught the pre-existence of souls, and on the evolution of man in his
ascent to the divine source, he says:<<"Contra Celsus," B. i, ch. 7.>> "But that
there should be certain doctrines not made known to the multitude, which are
(revealed) after the exoteric ones have been taught, is not a peculiarity of
Christianity alone, but also of philosophic systems, in which certain truths are
exoteric and others esoteric. Some
of the hearers of Pythagoras were content with his "ipse dixit," whilst others
were taught in secret those doctrines which were not deemed fit to be
communicated to profane and insufficiently prepared ears. Moreover all the Mysteries that are
celebrated everywhere, throughout Greece, and barbarous countries, although held
in secret, have no discredit thrown upon them, so that it is in vain that he
endeavours to calumniate the secret doctrine of Christianity, seeing he does not
correctly understand its nature." Again<<"Ibid." B. viii, c. 8.>> "He would have
us believe that we and the {162} interpreters of the Mysteries equally teach the
doctrine of eternal punishments."
Again,<<"Ibid," B. iii, c. 60.>> "Whoever is pure . . . . let him be
boldly initiated into the Mysteries of Jesus, which properly are made known only
to the holy and pure. . . . . He who acts as Initiator according to the precepts
of Jesus, will say to those who have been purified in heart, 'he whose soul has
for a long time been conscious of no evil, and especially since he yielded
himself to the healing of the Word, let such an one hear the doctrines which
were spoken in private to his genuine Disciples.'" Again,<<"Pref. Gos. John.">> "To the
literal minded we teach the Gospel in the historic way, preaching Christ Jesus
and him crucified; but to the proficient, fired with love of the divine wisdom
we impart the Logos." Synesius, Bishop of Ptolemais, says that:
"the truth must be kept secret, and the masses need a teaching proportioned to
their imperfect reason."
Both the Mysteries and Arcane Christianity were clearly of opinion that
more should not be given than the intellect could understand.

It is a
moot point how far architectural symbolism was in use by this School, some
writers maintain that all these sects used building symbolism, and Christianity
was strong in the Roman Colleges of Artificers.
Oliver asserts that in the Catacombs of Rome, a cross was constructed of
a square, level, and plumb-rule, in such manner that, if touched, it fell to
pieces, and the detected fraternity were supposed to be studying architecture.
A representation of the temple of Solomon was found in these subterraneans. That the learned of these times did not
ignore the use of Masonic symbolism is very certain, and St. Paul terms himself
a "Master Builder," who was engaged in erecting the new church, numerous
passages of the same character occur, hints at initiation, which would lead us
to believe that there was a Masonic character in the secret system of the
Church. The apocryphal book called
"The Vision of Hermas" compares the faithful to Perfect ashlars, "of a true die
or square," and the less {163} holy to imperfect stones, and rough ashlars.
In the so-called Apostolical Constitution, the church is compared to a ship, as
it is in the Egyptian "Ritual of the Dead," -- the Minister is Captain, the
Deacons Mariners, the congregation are passengers. The Nave of the church is equally an
allusion to the ark of the Mysteries.

We have
some information upon the organisation of the Arcane Church in the "Stromata" of
Clemens, in "Degrees of Glory in Heaven corresponding with the dignities of the
church below"; but which is more fully explained by Dionysius the Areopagite;
equally based upon heavenly and ecclesiastical hierarchies.
In each it is 3 x 3 = 9 classes. In
the first division we have Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones; in the second,
Dominions, Virtues, and Powers; in the third, Principalities, Archangels, and
Angels. In the earthly counterpart Jesus stands
in relation to it as does the heavenly Father to the celestial Hierarchy. The first triplet is baptism, communion,
and consecration of the chrism, representing purification, enlightening, and
perfecting. Second, the orders of
Deacon, Priest, and Bishop. Third,
Monks, Members, and Catechumens.
Here we have the Exoteric, Esoteric, and Divine church.
The Lectures of the Order of Harodim -- Rosy Cross, which claim a Culdee
Masonic origin, speak of these matters; and the Christian Mysteries, equally
with the Platonists, speak of hylics, sepulchres, and the dead, as applying to
those who are buried in worldly matters and things of sense. We have been more diffuse on this
subject, for the reason that Christian churches could only have been built by
Masons who possessed its arcanum.

There
are two accounts which indicate in this country that either the history of the
Arcane Discipline is not fully known, or in the other case that the Culdees had
inherited a special Rite from their Druidical ancestors, a Rite which resembled
that of the Mysteries of the Philosophers, and they should be considered
together. The first Culdees had been
Druids and St. Patrick is said to
{164} have been born at Dumbarton, and to have gone to Ireland in 432 A.D. St. Columba left Ireland with 12
companions in the 6th century, intending to found a Monastery at Icolmkil on an
Island in the Hebrides. It was
thought necessary, the legend says, following a widely-spread belief, that the
structure should be sanctified by a living sacrifice, and Odrian offered himself
for that purpose, and was buried alive; after a lapse of "three days" Columba
thought he would like to have a look at his old friend, and uncovered him; upon
which Odrian started up alive, and began his experience: he had learned the
truth in the other world, there was no fall of man, no personal Christ, no
personal devil, and no hell. The
scandalised Columba ordered his friend to be covered up again, "that he blab no
more." This tale enshrines some of the alleged
heresies of the Culdees for there were many others. It is further explained by the following
account which we copy from Froissart, and Gough's additions to
Camden.<<"Britannia," iii, p. 641.>> One Owen, or Tindal, a soldier of
Stephen, King of England, repaired to the old Monastery of St. Patrick in
Donegal, where was his "Purgatory."
He was prepared for his initiation by a nine days' fast on bread and water, but
which Matthew Paris says was originally a fast of 21 days, and as this fast is
reported both of the Mysteries and the Arcane Discipline, it serves to connect
the three accounts. Each day a
procession was made round the place, three times the first seven days, and six
times on the eighth, bathing each night in the lake, such processions and
bathings being also a part of the ancient Mysteries. On the ninth day he observes a complete
fast of 24 hours, with the exception of a little water, and was then conducted
to the Chapel, "out of which all who enter do not return;" there was a deep well
at one end. He then laid down in a
sort of grave large enough to hold the body; the only light being from a single
window of small dimensions, which looked out upon a field and a {165} hall.
Here Owen was visited during the night by 15 persons, clothed in white, who
warned him of the trials he would undergo.
To these succeeded a troop of demons, who seemed to place him upon a burning
pile, which he extinguished in the name of Christ.
They then dragged him through scenes of torment, where the wicked suffer a
variety of tortures, such as Virgil gives as common to Tartarus.
Standing proof against these horrors Owen is taken in hand by two
venerable persons, who favour him with a full view and description of Paradise,
corresponding with that shown to Aeneas.
After this Owen proceeds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and after visiting
the Holy Sepulchre, returns to Ireland and labours at erecting the Abbey of
Besmagoveisth. Trials were made of
this cavern as late as the 15th century, as Froissart records that he had
interviewed two soldiers, who had spent a night in the cave, but forgot their
visions after leaving the place.

GNOSTICS. These sects are ancient, and Christian
Gnosticism sprang out of sects more ancient than themselves. The word means "to know," in opposition
to mere theory, and has deep significance, equally with Veda, Wizard, Witch, all
meaning a class "who know." An extraordinary man, of the first ages
of the Church, was Apollonius of Tyana; Theurgic powers, and many wonderful
things are recorded of him: he was an initiate of various Rites, and visited the
Indian Gymnosophists, after which he went about Greece reforming the Mysteries.
As the Catholic Church uses the term Gnostic he can scarcely be considered one
of them, but he was born about the same date as the Gospel Jesus and lived to be
100 years of age. The first Gnostic "of the Church" was
Simon Magus, a contemporary of the Christian Apostles, who passed at Rome as "a
great power of God," that is an Aeon or Sephiroth, in the language of the Gnosis
and Cabala. He was born at Gitta, in
Samaria, and his Gnosis is couched in the symbolical language of the period.
He was personally known to the Apostles, who {166} clearly considered him a
person to be reckoned with, although he would seem to have looked upon them
favourably, and mildly asked Cephas -- "Pray for me." Some of his enemies admit his honesty and
single-mindedness. He had numerous
disciples, and was deeply learned in Oriental, Greek, and Jewish culture, as
well as Theurgy. As an anatomist, he
wrote upon the circulation of the blood, and the physical system of the female.
The handle which he gave to his enemies consisted chiefly in this, that he
reformed and married a beautiful harlot, who repaid him with her devotion, and
whom he believed, whether rightly or wrongly, to be a reincarnation of Helen of
Troy, doomed to such rebirth for her ancient sin with Priam.
Irenaeus, who flourished in the second century, and was born 116 A.D., says that
the Simonians had a priesthood of the Mysteries, and that such "Initiated
priests" practised magic arts, and exorcisms. Simon had as disciples Menander, and
Cerinthus, a Jewish Cabalist, and Dositheus was a contemporary; they looked upon
the Creation in Genesis as consonant to the gestation of the foetus, and the
temptation of Eve had a like characer, as well as the Garden of Eden. After this followed Saturninus of
Antioch; Prodicus, 120 A.D.; Valentinian, an Egyptian, 130 A.D.; Ptolemy, and
Marcion, 136 A.D. A few details
follow.

"Carpocratians." The founder
of this Sect was Carpocrates of Alexandria. He would seem to have been a Disciple of
Jehoshua ben Panther, previously mentioned, rather than the Gospel Jesus. It is not improbable that the older
portions of the Jewish "Sepher Toldoth Jeshu" was a Gospel of Cabalistic Sects,
and that Jesus ben Panther was an Essenian leader. The system of Carpocrates taught that
Jesus derived the Mysteries of his religion from the temple of Isis in Egypt,
where he had studied for six years, and that he taught them to his Apostles, who
transmitted them to Carpocrates. The
sect used Theurgic incantations, and had grips, signs, and words; symbols and
degrees. His son Epiphanes wrote
{167} a work on his father's system, but died young.
The sect is believed to have endured for some centuries. The Comte de Tromelin, in the Paris
"Initiation" (Oct., 1902), says: -- "Hermes has as seat a cross between the four
branches of which are written the four letters I.N.R.I., in that order.
Is it not the grand Hermetic prediction of the Mages attendant on the Messiah?"

"Cerenthians." These were
apparently Essenian Gnostics, and made a distinction between the earthly Jesus
and the Angel Messiah that united with the mortal man. Some leading German Savants are now
agreed that the Apocalypse, from the 4th to 21st chapter, was the Gospel of the
Sect, the remainder being of later date; in this they agree with the Presbyter
Cajus of Rome, and Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria, who, according to Eusebius,
attributed the book to Cerinthus.

"Marcians." Irenaeus gives an account of their
ceremony of Initiation, but which the sect repudiated, but the nature of these
details have some agreement with the modern Dervish sects; there is first a
baptismal Invocation, a second to light, spirit, and life; followed by one to
"angelic redemption," by which the Neophyte became united to his Angel, finally
a formula of "restitution," or unity to the super-celestial power, to which the
Neophyte responds in declaring his redemption by the name IAO.
They gave numbers to the Aeons.

"Basilideans." This sect was
founded by Basilides of Alexandria, who was a disciple of Menander, a pupil of
Simon Magus; but Clemens says that he claimed to have received his esoteric
doctrines from Glaucus, a disciple of the Apostle Peter. The system had three grades -- the
material, intellectual, and spiritual; and they had two allegorical statues, the
one male and the other female. A
quinquennial silence, as in the Mysteries, was exacted from the Disciples; and
the doctrine seems to have many points of resemblance to that of the Ophites. It ran on the lines of Jewish Cabalism
with a succession of Aeons, Emanations, and Sephiroth, over which an {168}
Archon, or Angelic-prince presided.
They taught that Simon of Cyrene took the place of Jesus at the Crucifixion. Basilides was succeeded by his son
Isidorus, and they say that Matthias communicated to them secret discourse,
which being specially instructed, he heard from the Saviour.<<Hippolytus,
Refutation of all Heresies.">>

"Ophites." The Ophites were an organised fraternity
early in the 2nd century as it is said to have numbered Valentinian amongst its
supporters, but Clemens attributes its foundation to Eucrates at the beginning
of our era. It was very Osirian or
Serapian, with Semitic names for the Coptic ones. In the "Ritual of the Dead," which is of
incalculable antiquity, there are certain chapters which refer to secrets of
Initiation, which the translators have not mastered, and which have reference to
the passwords required by the Guards of the heavenly temple or Amenti, from the
aspiring soul, these are illustrated in the Ophite Ritual.
To some extent the doctrine corresponds with that of the Mendaens, or followers
of John the Baptist. Symbols to represent purity, life,
spirit, fire have to be shewn to the Guards.
We may imagine such to be the cube, tau-cross, pentagon, or other symbols. "The soul greets the first power saying:
'I come from thence pure, a portion of the light of the son and father.' To prove this, the sign must be shewn, as
well to every Archon, that the soul passes.
To the principal Archon, Ildabaoth, is said, 'Greatest and seventh Archon
of the Logos, sub-Archon of the Spirit, the through-father-and son, I offer to
thee perfect work in this figure, the sign of life.' The address to Jao is, -- 'To thee I now
offer just the same sign figured in the spirit.' Then going to the Sabaoth, 'Archon of the
fifth permission, Lord Sabaoth, proclaimer of the law of the creation, perfected
by thy kindness, by the power of the most mighty fifth number, let me pass.
See here the crime-clear sign of thy art, which has been passed by all the
previous Archons, in the form of this sign, a body absolved by fire.'
After the soul has {169} shewn this figure thrice it needs no further sign for
the succeeding Archon, Aristophanes, but addresses him confidently, 'Let me
pass, thou seest one Initiated.'"<<"Originis Opera" -- de la Rue, i, p. 54.>>
These Seven Archons were represented in this System by animals -- Michael by a
lion; Suriel by a bull; Raphael by a serpent; Gabriel by an eagle; Thoutabaoth
by a bear; Eratsaoth by a dog; Ouriel by an ass; these names being Cabalistic
equivalents of the Archons, Origen names the rulers thus: Adonai (sun); Jao
(moon); Eloi; (Jupiter); Sabao (Mars); Orai (Venus); Astapohi (Mercury);
Ildabaoth (Saturn). Ophite, or serpent symbolism, is ancient
as the world, and one of the sacred alphabets represented the writhing curves of
serpents.

"Naasene." The Naasene were a
branch of the Ophites, the name being derived from the Hebrew Naas, a serpent,
and we have quoted the words of one of the sect in the last chapter.<<Vide
"A.Q.C.," iii, p. 60.>>

"Valentinians." The five
Gnostic words GR:Zeta-Alpha-Mu-Alpha Omega Zeta-Zeta-Alpha Rho-Alpha-Chi
Alpha-Mu-Alpha Omega Zeta-Alpha-Iota, are translated: "The robe, the glorious
robe of my strength," and are said to have been on the shining garment of Jesus
at his glorification; they are said to represent the five mystic powers of the
reborn which become seven upon bodily death. Heraclian was a follower of this school,
and wrote about 170 A.D. a Commentary upon the gospel of St. John's opening
words.

"Bardisanians." The founder
of this sect was Bardaisan, a man of noble descent born at Edessa 155 A.D., and
died 233 A.D. He was author of an
Armenian history; a book on the Indian religions; a book of Hymns; another on
the Marcionites; Book of laws of the Countries, concerning fate, freewill, and
nature. A most beautiful hymn of his
symbolises the Gnostic Initiation.
Professor A. Bevan terms it a "Hymn of the Soul," but the "Theosophical
Review," to which we are indebted for many hints on Gnosticism, terms it the
"Hymn of the Robe of Glory." His antagonists brought these charges
against him: -- (1) he denied the resurrection of the body; (2) he {170} held
the theory of a "divine Mother," and a "Father of life," as the origin of the
"Son of the living"; in other words the Gnostic doctrine of the concealed Logoi;
(4) he believed in a number of lesser gods, such as the seven who are said to
surround the throne. The subjects appear in the poem mentioned
as the "King of Kings," the "Queen of the East," and the "Brother next in rank";
finally the lesser gods are the "Kings who obey the King of Kings."

"Manicheans." The most noted
of the Gnostic sects was the Manichees, whom Herder ranks as a sect of the
Persian Magi. The founder is said to
have been a pupil of Scythianus, an Arab of the purest morality, who was
contemporary with the Christian Apostles; he studied the Egyptian Philosophy and
composed four books designated Chapters, Mysteries, Treasures, and Gospel.
A disciple of this man, named Ferbulio, assumed the name of Buddha, it may be to
imply reincarnation, and dying by accident, a widow with whom Ferbulio lodged,
had a slave of the name of Cubricus educated, and gave him the four books, which
he took into Persia, where he asumed the name of Mani, which means conversation;
it is said that the King of Persia had him flayed alive with reeds.<<Vide
"Memoirs of Jacobinism" -- Barruel.>>
The entire tale looks like a fable of the enemies of the sect.

In
addition to the class of Disciples, the sect had that of Auditors, who were
permitted to hear the writings of Mani read and interpreted in a mystical form;
a custom we saw followed by the Brahmins in dealing with the Warriors. The third grade was the Perfect, or
Elect, who were the priestly order of the sect.
From these last were chosen the Magistri, or Council, who were 12 in
number, as in the Culdee system, with a 13th as President. When a Manichee passed over to orthodoxy
in Rome, he was required to curse his late associates in the following terms,
which implies a reference to the Sun-god of the Mysteries: "I curse those
persons who say that Zarades, and Budas, {171} and Christ, and Manichaes, and
the Sun are all one and the same."
The Sun, Urim, and Mani, being the saviour symbol, and the old
Mystery-god, under various names, a Sunday festival was observed in March, when
funereal rites were celebrated. On
this occasion the altar was adorned with great magnificence, and a splendidly
decorated pulpit, ascended by five steps, was erected, before which all
prostrated themselves.

This
sect, in common with all the other Gnostics, had secret forms of recognition;
Augustin says: "signa, oris, manum et finus," which Barruel translates: "three,
that of the word, the gripe, and of the breast." Epiphanius, who had been a member,
professes to give the mode by which they tested strangers -- tickling the palm
of the hand with the finger.
Augustine was at one time of his life a Manichee, but failing, for some reason,
to obtain advancement, withdrew from the sect.

Synesius, Bishop of Cyrene, and a pupil and life-long friend of the unfortunate
Hypatia, who was torn to pieces by a Christian mob before the very altar,
continued a Platonist to the last; and he bitterly reproaches one of his friends
for having lightly betrayed to uninitiated Auditors a part of the Secret
doctrines of the Philosophers. The contest between the Roman Church and
the Gnostics, broadly speaking, resolves itself into this: first, the historical
Jesus, the Christ of the Church; and second, the ancient Crestos of the Serapian
Culte, the good god, with a Spiritual Cristos to be developed within each
Perfected Gnostic. The former view
was that of Peter and the Judaising Christians; the latter that of Paul, Origen,
and the British Culdees. The Arcane
Discipline was the union of the two, in which the literal history was taught
Exoterically, and the spiritual version Esoterically; in the end the Church
sought to teach both Exoterically.

"Arcane
Symbols." A number of the peculiar
symbols of the various sects have come down to us, but have not yet been
properly classified by any writer.
1. Those with {172} a cock's head upon the top, and the name Abraxas upon some
of them: these may be Mythraic and Basilidean, as the cock was a Mythraic
symbol; Abraxas is Basilidean. 2.
Those with the head, or body of a lion, commonly inscribed "Mythras." 3. Those with the figure or name of the
Egyptian "Serapis." 4. Those which
have figures of sphynx, ape, scarib, asp, ibis, goat, crocodile, vulture, etc.,
all Egyptian symbols. 5. Those which
have human figures and the names Jao, Sabaoth, Adonai, Eloi, Basilidean, Ophite,
and Jewish sects. 6. Those with a
costly monument, and the word "Abraxas," Basilidean and perhaps Manichean.
7. One represented in the work of Chiffalet, which has upon it 7 stars, and a
larger one above them, together with a pair of compasses, a square, and other
geometrical emblems, perhaps Cabiric.
8. One in the British Museum engraved by Brother Wm. Hutchinson in his "Spirit
of Masonry;" it is in the shape of an egg; on one side is a head which he
interprets as the Ancient of Days or Great-workman; on the other side, sun,
moon, five-pointed star, and a serpent; it has an inscription which he
interprets: "The earth shall praise Thee, 1305." 9. Representations of the
eternal Father, with arms crossed on breast.
10. To these may be added numerous emblems from ancient gems, chiefly of Greek
workmanship, some of which embrace Masonic signs, some with Pelicans, crosses of
all shapes, squares, triangles, circles, point within a circle, etc. The Gnostics had great respect for the
number seven {symbol, upright equilateral triangle floating above square}
because it results from adding the side view of a square to those of a triangle,
or the three principles and four elements, applied spiritually. In regard to the number seven we may
quote Mr. T. Subba Row,<<"Five Years of Theosophy.">> who says: --
"Algebraically the number of entities evolved from three primary causes is 2
cubed -1 is 8-1=7. Thus the seven
rays are evolved out of three primary coloured rays, and the three primary
colours exist with the four secondary colours.
Similarly the three primary entities, which brought man into existence,
{173} exist in him with the four secondary arising from different combinations
of the three primary entities."

The
real cause of the veneration of the Manichees for the reed, upon mats of which
they affected to lie, is not very apparent, but it was everywhere a sacred
symbol. In the ancient Finnish poem
of the "Kalevala" the "virgin Mother of the north-land" conceives a heavenly
child who is "hidden in the reeds and rushes."
The Hindu goddess Kartikeya was nourished amid reeds. Moses was saved in an ark
of bulrushes; and a reed was put into the hand of Jesus, as a sceptre. As the plant grows upright out of water
it may symbolise truth springing from sacred doctrine; but as the virgin mother
is primal matter, that requires another key of interpretation.

The
Gnostics adopted the Apostle John as their Patron; his symbol was the Eagle, or
bird of the sun, which was the Sectarians' sacred emblem; it is found in Egypt
at the foot of the tau cross, and now on the jewel of a Rosy-cross Mason. The Gnostic tokens were a sectarian
version of the older pagan "Tesserae hospitalis," on which was the head of Zeus,
and under the Roman Empire there was the "tesserae frumentaria," which entitled
to a public distribution of grain.<<"Notes and Queries" (London, 14 Mch.,
1874).>> There was the white stone
presented on Mythraic Initiation; and Clemens in his "Hortatory Address to the
Heathen," appears to allude to both sign and pass, and material token -- "nam
equidem nullo unquam periculo compellar, "quae reticenda accepi hac ad profanos
enuntiare."
Again, "Vel unius Liberi patris symmystae qui adestis, "scitis quid dani
conditum celetis et . . ." tacite veneramini." There can be no doubt that the Arcane
Discipline had them as tokens of preparation for the Supper of the Lord; many,
if not all, the Catholic confraternities present a token which is generally worn
under the clothes from a ribbon.
Some of the tokens yet preserved belonged to the Templars, and there are
a quantity of Abbey tokens, which are struck in lead or {174} pewter with the
cross on one side, and on the obverse a variety of designs.

"Esoteric Budhism." This living
system has every appearance of great antiquity; its symbols are ideographs,
interpretable in any language, and touch the Mysteries.
It has two divisions, theory and practice, or the active and
contemplative of the Essenes. The
doctrine of the "heart," as opposed to the "eye"; the secret path as opposed to
the "open," and is the seal of truth," which leads to the growth of "the tree of
knowledge," or the "dragon tree," which is the development of the "higher self." The "Secret heart" has three halls, from
which lead two Paths for the "Listener" and the "Exerciser."
The first is the four-fold Dhyana; the second is the seven noble gates of virtue
opened by the "golden keys" of charity, harmony, patience, worldly indifference,
persistence, until finally the initiate arrives at the attainment of supreme
wisdom, by travelling the paths of hearing and seeing.

These paths may be compared with the seven Halls and
Staircases of the Egyptian "Ritual of the Dead." Similarly we have the "seven stepped
Ladder" of the "Golden Precepts," each step being an advance towards union with
the divine, its rungs are of suffering and pain, its sides of love.
To hear and see reaches the second stage of ascent, when the four senses blend,
and pass into the inner sense; the fifth and sixth carry perfect renunciation
and concentration of the "higher self"; on the seventh, "thyself and mind are
like twins upon a line," the "star" which is thy goal burns over head.<<"Voice
of the Silence," transl. by H. P. Blavatsky.>>
Thibet like Thebes denotes Sacred Ark, and points to the high table-land of
Thibet as a centre of the Mysteries.

"Arcane
Schools." The Gnostic Sects,
Neo-Platonists, and the Mysteries, descended down the stream of time, with
mutual forbearance and goodwill, until late on in the fourth century, when evil
times come upon them. The Church was
becoming powerful and intolerant, and there was no room left for the Mysteries
of Mythras, {175} Serapis, Bacchus, the Cabirs, Hirtha, Druids, or Gnostics; and
the Church considered itself capable to absorb their teachings. The Emperors Valentinian, 372;
Theodosius, 381; Theodosius II., 450, all forbade the assemblies of Gnostics,
Platonists, and all other religious Mysteries, but this but led to greater
secrecy and disguise, for Psellus tells us that the Eleusinian Mysteries
continued to be practised at Athens in the 8th century, and were never entirely
suppressed.

In the
sixth century the Gnostics were put to the sword in Persia, but some embraced
Islam, and transmitted their system amongst the Dervish sects. In 657 the Manichees had assumed the name
of "Paulicians," and it is said that in the course of three centuries one
hundred thousand were put to death by the Romish Church, or at its instigation.

The
name of "Cathari" succeeded and implies, as in the Discipline, purity. Some took the name of "Euckites," others
"Bogomiles," "Albigensis," and later "Lollards," travelled over Europe, seeking
proselytes, and continuing, either openly or secretly, until modern times. There was nothing offensive in the word
Gnostic, it means knowing as opposed to believing. Clemens, in his "Stromata," uses the word
in orthdoxy thus: "Happy are they who have entered into Gnostic holiness."
Heckethorn says that in 1022 the Canons of Orleans were burnt for Manichaeism by
King Robert; as Cathari they were persecuted in Italy 1150-1224, and were
compelled to perform their Rites in woods and forests, like the Carbonari, and
it is not improbable that the latter whose Mysteries represent the passion of
Christ, is one of their branches.

"A
further impregnable evidence of the derivation of Catharism from Manichaeism is
furnished by the sacred thread and the garment which was worn by all the
"Perfect" among the Cathari.
This custom is too peculiar to have had an independent origin, and is
manifestly the "Kosti" and "Saddarah," the sacred thread and shirt the wearing
of which was essential to all believers, and the use of which by both Zends and
Brahmins shows that its origin is to {176} be traced to the prehistoric period,
anterior to the separation of those branches of the Aryan family.
Among Cathari the wearing of the thread and vestment, was what was known amongst
the Inquisitors as the "haereticus indutus" or "vestitus," initiated into all
the mysteries of the heresy."<<H. C. Lea, "Hist. of Inquisition of the Middle
Ages" (i, p. 92). London, 1888.>> This may be the origin of that
consecrated Girdle, which was one of the charges brought against the Templars
during their trials, 1311-13.

"Metempsychosis, and the pre-existence of the Soul was an integral part of the
system."<<J. H. Blunt, "Dict. of Sects and Heresies," London, 1891.>>
This statement is confirmed in numerous ways, and is even mystically stated in
the Graal Poem of Wolfram von Eisenbach.
The French writer Aroux quotes Pierre Cardinal the Troubadour, as to the veiled
language of the Graal legend, which was of a nature of the Culdee secret
symbolism. He says: "The ungent which heals all
kinds of wounds, even the bites of the "venemous reptiles," is in fact none
other but the word of the gospel, so also the "golden vessel" in which it (the
graal) is contained, adorned with most precious stones, is none other than the
holy grail itself, or the book of the Gospels, as the Albigensis had adopted and
translated it; the Golden book, the vessel containing the true light, visible
only to the Initiated, to the Professors of the Gay Science."
We shall add later some account of these sects.

Early
in the 12th century the celebrated St. Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux says of the
Gnostics: "If you ask them of their faith nothing can be more Christian like; if
you observe their conversation nothing can be more blameless, and what they
speak they make good by their actions. . . . . As to life and manners, he circumvents no
man, overreaches no man, does violence to no man, he fasts much, eats not the
bread of idleness, but works with his hands." Another Roman writer says that the
"Perfected" were divided into Bishops, Major, and Minor brothers, and Deacons,
and that these abstained from {177} animal food, and from women. It is related of the Waldenses, who were
a branch of the Albigensis who may have preserved the Arcane Mysteries from
their first reception of Christianity, that the Initiated assumed new names, and
that when the Believer was on the point of death he was perfected thus: "They
assembled in a dark room, closed on all sides, but illuminated by a great number
of lights affixed to the walls; then the new Candidate was placed in the centre,
when the presiding officer of the sect laid a book (probably St. John's Gospel)
on his head, and gave him the imposition of hands, at the same time reciting the
Lord's prayer; saying also: 'Have pity on this imprisoned spirit.'" The last a
very Platonic formula. Saccho says, in speaking of the 13th
century: "In many of the sects their secrets are by no means revealed." Limborchi says: "They had also a peculiar
manner of saluting each other, by embracing, putting their hands to both sides,
and turning their heads three times to each shoulder, saying every time, 'Praise
the Lord.'" Of the Waldenses, who
followed Peter Waldo, who was probably a Waldense, it is said that "those who
are Perfect put in the upper part of the shoe, a Zabbata, a sort of escutcheon,
as a sign, from which they are called Inzabbata."
This statement, referring as it does to the 13th century, seems to amount only
to this, that they wore sandals or wooden shoes.
The Rev. Henry Stebbing (1834) says that in the 14th century Pope Honorius III.
"condemned to perpetual infamy the Cathari, Patarines, the Leonists, the
Speronists, and the Arnoldists."

VEHM
GERICHTE. According to Abbe
Trithemius, who wrote his "Polagraphia" about the year 1500, the Emperor
Charlemagne instituted in 770 for Saxons of Westphalia, or the red earth, a
Secret Tribunal, for the suppression of paganism and bad morals, "with secret
laws, private signs, and a form of oath.
. . . . using amongst
themselves certain cyphers and alphabets which are now lost." The original society was no doubt
attached to the old pagan worship. A
society very similar to the Holy Vehme was {178} established at Castile and
Leon, in Spain, in the year 1245, and designated the HERMANDAD.
In the 1906 volume of Ars Quat. Cor. (page 31) I printed a paper on the
Ritual of the Vehm Court of the year 1490.
In this Ritual the Free Count is supposed to occupy the throne of
Charlemagne, in the same way that the Master Mason is supposed to occupy the
throne of Solomon, but the curious point is that, with a quite different object
in view, it has all the formula of Guild Masonry. Bro. F. F. Schnitger informs me that the
three sides of his father's house overlooked five of the old Friestules, or
places of judgment, and that he has known people who participated in some of the
last meetings of the Vehm; and his opinion is that Charlemagne, of whom
hereafter we will say something as a builder, adapted the existing tribal
jurisdiction to his ends, and that the Secret Tribunal is the jurisdiction of
the ancient priests. The Association
possesed two Courts -- an open one (offenes ding) and a secret one (Geheines
Gerichte), and to the latter the Free or Initiated were only admitted. Their laws and signs are partially known,
their words absolutely, and their Oath exists in a dozen documents.

ALCHEMISTS. The Alchemical Art is doubtless as old as
other branches of science and is traceable in Egypt, China, and India, in the
earliest times. Modern writers on
Chemistry assert that it was practised by the Essenes and Cabalistic Jews. When it was suppressed in Egypt it still
lived on in China,

where the terms used correspond with those of the European
Alchemists. In all countries it had
three interpretations and three objects: the "Alkahest" or universal solvent;
the "Lapis," or stone or powder of transmutation; and the "Elixir," or universal
medicine. As a secret Mystery in which art and
religion are combined it no doubt originated amongst a metallurgic people. Thus it is "physical," as we have said;
and "psychological" in its interpretation and as such allied to Gnosticism; and
it is "moral" in its relation to humanity. It aimed, in this sense, at converting
the "lead" of the body, and the "silver" {179} of the soul, into the "gold" of
the spirit, and it is this meaning that Aristotle employs it when he says that
all men have the Stone within them, and that its conversion is the labour of
wise men.
The Mystic Marriage of the Sun and Moon, in its spiritual and inoperative
sense, is the Union of Soul and Spirit to form the Gnostic Crestos. The Hermetic system united all nature
inasmuch as "that which is above is the same as that which is below."
When it descends to the mineral kingdom, and the vegetable, it finds in these
the same three principles as in man, namely a visible body, a virtue or soul,
and a spark of the spirit, termed salt, sulphur, and mercury, a divine triad
{Symbol: Fire}; whilst the four lower principles are earth, air, fire, water,
{symbol: a square}, but which in another phase represents the physical, psychic,
mental, and spiritual plains of existence; which are again the fixed, unstable,
and volatile. Professor Roberts Austin, C.B., F.R.S.,
in a Lecture on Metals, says that the Alchemists "recognised in metals the
possession of attributes which closely resemble those of organisms . . ." and
that, "the first Alchemists were Gnostics, and the old beliefs of Egypt are
blended with those of Chaldea in the second and third centuries."
Alchemy and Masonry were early subsidiary schools of the Mysteries.

In its
operations the Society held that as "all things proceed from the Will of one,"
so all were again resolveable to first principles, and that metals might be
separated, refined, and reunited; and they claimed that Moses was an Adept
because he possessed the difficult process of reducing the golden calf to a
powder. The "Aurea," attributed to
Hermes Trismegistus, is one of the oldest Arcane works on the subject, and
couched in Egyptian Symbolism.
The writings of Athenagoras have tracers of Alchemy and the Emperor
Caligula is said to have experimented with red arsenick. Thoelden says: "Our ancestors united
themselves again in the time of Valerius Diocletian in the year 284 A.D." However that may be, this worthy in the
year 296 was engaged in burning Christians, {180} Gnostics and Alchemists with
zealous indiscrimination, and equally all works on Alchemy and the Secret
Sciences on which he could lay his vile hands.
Colin MacKenzie<<"Processes in Manufactures," London, 1825.>> says that,
we find Alchemists amongst the Essenes, Cabalists, Manichaeans, the Hermits of
Thebes, and the Gymnosophists of India. The Emperor Julian, who, though termed
the apostate, was one of the purest Emperors Rome ever had, and apostate from
the vices of men like Constantine, restored these Sciences. Zosimus the Panopolite has an express
treatise on the "divine art of making gold and silver." Cedrinus, 491, gives an example of a
Magician who professed Alchemy.
Morienus, who was a Hermit at Rome, learned the art of Transmutation and the
Elixir, from Adsar, who was an Alexandrian and a Christian, and afterwards
taught it to Calid, the son of Gezid the Second, who was Sultan of Egypt about
the year 725 A.D.; the works of Morienus were translated from Arabic into Latin
in 1182 A.D. Successors continued the Science; Geber,
whose real name was Abou Moussa Djafar qualified as "al Sofi" the Wise, devoted
his life, about 730 to Alchemy; he was born at Houran in Mesopotamia; and we owe
to him the first mention of corrosive sublimate, red-oxide of mercury, nitric
acid, and nitrate of silver.
A Marcus Graecus is mentioned in the 13th century, nothing is known of
him, though erroneously asserted, he is mentioned by the Arabian physician
Mesue, and his M.S. contains the secret of gunpowder.<<"Eph. Chambers' Enc.">>
Alfarabi flourished later, at the beginning of the tenth century, and was
considered the most learned man of the age.
Avicenna, whose real name was Abu Cenna, another great Alchemist, was born at
Bokara in 984 and died in 1036.
After this time but few philosophers of note are mentioned by name in Arabia,
and it now began to attract attention in Spain, into which country the Moors and
Jews had introduced it. Schools of
the Arts, Sciences, and Magic were established at Toledo, Salamanca, Barcelona,
and elsewhere, and to these drew Gerhard of {181} Cremona, circa 1130; Arnold de
Villanova, 1243; Roger Bacon, 1215; Albertus Magnus, 1270; Raymond Lulli, 1320,
etc.<<"Aureus," preface (Fryar, Bath).>> We will divide this notice for
convenience, and continue it under the head of "Rosicrucianism," it is an
appropriate division because we have better and fuller evidence of its
symbolism, much of it being identical with Masonry and Gnosticism, and doubtless
derived, through Spain, from the House of Wisdom at Cairo. During the dominion of the Moors in
Spain, the Jews enjoyed consideration, and numbered many of the most learned men
of the time amongst their race; and proportionately held in estimation. After the fall of the Moorish power the
Jews were persecuted, and in the 14th and 15th centuries under the name of
"Maranos," they met in great secrecy at Inns, disguised, using grips, signs, and
passwords; the temple of Solomon was bound to have its prominent place, but it
is unlikely unless in the Arch ritual that the Society could have any connection
with Masonry whose broad and liberal platform is opposed to the exclusive nature
of Judaism.<<Vide "Freem. Mag.", 1860, iii, p. 416.>>

ISLAMITE MYSTICS. We have mentioned
that Islamite Gnostics arose in Persia at an early period; and they claim to be
as old as the time of the Prophet.
It is said that their origin is the "Alli Allahis," a continuation of the old
sect of Medo-Persian Magi. The Sects
are termed "Tariks" or Paths, for they are Pilgrims or travellers on the "urug"
Or ascent, in which there are three "ourouens" -- the road, the stages, the
goal.

At this
time we have numerous sects of these Mystics, and it is claimed that Ali, who
according to the Persian sect was the lawful successor of Mohamed, founded them
by bestowing some article of his clothing when he established their orders; thus
one sect claims to have received his "Tailji" or cap; another his "Khirka" or
Mantle; another his "Kemei" or girdle; thus fixing a succession.

"Benai
Ibraham." Every reading Mason is
aware that {182} from the time of the original of the "Cooke" MS. Constitutions,
say A.D. 1400, it has been handed down that the hunter King, Nimrod, was a Grand
Master, and that Abraham, who is said to have fled from him, taught the
Egyptians geometry. It is not worth
while to attempt to refute the latter statement, as according to Biblical
chronology Abraham was not in Egypt until about 1925 B.C., but it would be worth
while to ascertain, if we could, what ancient writer, probably Oriental, is
responsible for the Abrahamic origin of geometry in Egypt. I am aware, of what I have never yet seen
mentioned by any Masonic writer, that amongst the Moslems, throughout the world,
there is a very ancient Secret Society which claims to derive from the Koreish,
or Guardians of the Kaaba, who were a superior Arab race and the descendants of
Ishmael, and of which Mohammed was a scion. In the 1st and 2nd degrees of this system
precisely the same assertions are made as in the MS. Constitutions of Masonry,
whilst the 3rd degree is devoted to the erection of the Kaaba by Ibraham,
Ismael, and Isaque, as the three presiding G.M.M. Sale, in his "Preliminary
Observations" to his translation of "Al Koran" gives a full account of the
legend as to Abraham's erection of a square temple similar to one destroyed in
the deluge, the plans of which were etherially let down from Heaven on the
prayer of Adam.
I am inclined to give credit to the alleged great antiquity of these
three degrees of the Sons of Ibraham, for two reasons, or rather three. In the first place Mohammed himself
confirms the basis of the legend in treating of Abraham; in the second place the
thirteenth century account of the erection on "Salvation Mount" of the square
temple of San Graal, the plans being similarly heaven designed, is admittedly,
by the writer himself, taken from Moslem sources; and, in the third place, I
believe, with Ashmole, that the present system of Masonry was a thirteenth
century reform of an older system.
In 1872 the late Bro. Mackenzie organised the "Order of Ishmael," of 36th
Degree, the basis of which, he informed me, {183} he had from an Arab in Paris,
and in 1884 I was myself in relation with Prince Moustafa ben Ismael, ex-Prime
Minister of Tunis, then in Paris. But Mackenzie's idea seems to have been
that our Biblical legends were the transmission of the "Order of Ishmael," of
which the "Sons of Ibraham" were a very ancient branch, or, as he terms it, the
oldest secret society in the world.

M.
Edmond Demoulins in his work "Anglo-Saxon Superiority," which has created an
immense sensation in France, says that in all the Oases, or Deserts, under
Moslem rule Secret Brotherhoods (Zalouahs) exist, and he quotes, in
confirmation, M. L. Ponsard on ancient Egypt and Chaldea in prehistoric times.
He says: "They have their passwords, their signs of recognition, and are ruled
by an official hierarchy which starts from the Grand Master, or Khalif, and ends
with such subaltern agents as the messengers, banner-bearers, guards, etc. There are general assemblies for the
purpose of receiving instructions from the Khalif, or for the initiation of
fresh members, or again to promote the rising of the population against some
interior, or exterior foe. This
variety of patriotism inspired the societies which formerly occupied the two
large Oases of Assyria and Egypt, at least, during the first part of their
history, which extends over the time when, recently issued from the Desert, they
still were under the more or less domination of the Brotherhoods and priests of
Ammon. Mahomet and his votaries also
partook of this species of patriotism, and so did all the Societies started
under the inspiration of Islam, whether in the Arabian Desert and the Sahara, or
at their two extremities from Asia Minor to Spain."

"Brothers of Purity." This was an
association of Arab philosophers seated at Bosra in the 10th century. They had forms of Initiation, and they
wrote many works, which were afterwards much studied by the Spanish
Jews.<<"Royal Mas. Cyclo.," K. R. H. Mackenzie.>>

"House
of Wisdom." The Tarik of the House
of Wisdom was founded at Cairo and had seven Initiatory {184} degrees. According to von Hammer, who gives his
Arabian authorities, Abdallah a Persian, living in the 9th century of the
Christian era, accepted, what was the Gnostic doctrine, of the Aeons, or
Sephiroths, or emanations of divinity, and applied the system to the successors
of the Prophet of Arabia, upholding Ismael as the founder of his "Path," and one
of his descendants as the Seventh Imaum. This man created "Dais," or Missionaries,
for the propagation of the system, and was succeeded by his son and grandson.
One of the name of Karmath brought the "Path" into repute.
The Secret Institution was now seated at Cairo and termed the
"Dar-al-hicmet," translated Tent of Skill, or House of Wisdom, and Assemblies
were held twice a week, when all the members appeared clothed in white.
The members were advanced gradually through a series of Seven degrees, over
which presided a "Dai-al-doat," or Missionary of Missionaries. Their then Chief, Hakem-bi-emir-Illah
increased these degrees to nine and erected, in 1004 A.D., a stately building
which he abundantly furnished with mathematical instruments. In 1123 the Vizier Afdhal destroyed this
building, but meetings continued elsewhere.
Corresponding with the seven (or nine) grades of the Society was a
seven-fold gradation of officers: -- Sheik, or Grand Master; Dai-el-Keber, or
Deputy; Dai, or Master; Refik, or Fellow; Fedavie, or Agent; Lassik, or
Aspirant; Muemini, or Believer. The
Initiate was successively taught that there had been 7 holy Imaums; that God had
sent 7 Lawgivers, who in the interval of their appearance had each 7 Helpers,
and that each of these had 12 Apostles. It would appear that in 1150 the Sultan
of Egypt recognised the grades of the Society, for when a special rank was
created for the learned Jewish physician Maimonides, it is added that "the
enlightened men of the kingdom were divided into seven grades, each occupying a
corresponding position near the throne";<<"The Talmud," Polani, p. 226.>> it is
also a slight confirmation of what we have said respecting the Spanish affinity
with the Egyptian. {185} Sir John Maundeville, of St.
Albans, served with the Sultan about 1320 and would seem to have been half
converted to Islam; he relates that they denied the crucifixion of Jesus, and
asserted that Judas was substituted in his place.

"Assassins." Before the year
1090, one of the Dais of the House of Wisdom admitted an Aspirant of the name of
Hassan Sabah, who thus details his conversion: "I had been reared, like my
fathers, in the doctrine of the 12 Imaums, but I made the acquaintance of an
Ishmaelite Rafeek named Emir Dhareb, with whom I knit fast the bonds of
friendship. My opinion was that the
tenets of the Ishmaelites resembled those of the Philosophers and that the Ruler
of Egypt was a man who had been initiated into them." Hassan goes on to relate that he finally
gave his fealty to a Dai named Moomen, set out for Egypt, and was met on the
frontier by the Dai-al-Doat. Hassan
saw that the failure of the "House" as a political Society arose from the lack
of a fortress, and set about to remedy this defect. He obtained by a cunning strategical
purchase in the year 1090 the Castle of Alamoot.
Here he founded the Society of "Assassins" in seven degrees, the Class of
Fedavees being those devoted to the main object, the killing of the enemies of
the order. At a later period the
Society was dispersed, but yet exists in its seven degrees in India and other
countries, under its old designation of "Ishmaelites."

DRUZES. About the same period as the foundation
of the "Assassins" a Dai of the name of Hamsa prevailed upon the Druzes of
Lebanon to accept the Initiatory System of the House of Wisdom. These Syrian Mountaineers are a peculiar
race who are probably of Phoenician descent; it is known that before the time of
Hamsa they possessed secret Rites, Degrees, and modes of recognition.<<"Vide Ars
Quat. Cor.," iv, Smith.>> It was probably a phase of the Assyrian
culte, such as is possessed by the Yezids, who worship sun, moon, and bull, and
have signs of recognition.<<Ibid, iv, Yarker.>> From the time of {186} Hamsa they have
remained faithful conservators of the organisation received from him. The Sect recognises six degrees of which
the three first are typified by the "three feet of the candlestick of the Inner
Sanctuary which holds the five elements," and these "three feet" are "the holy
application, the opening, the phantom," referring to man's inner and outer soul,
and the body of matter. The Ignorant are presided over by the
Akkals or wise, and these are of three higher grades, which represent more
advanced principles and developments.
The members are sworn to absolute secrecy, and strictly observe their oath. They are known to have signs of
recognition which are common to Freemasonry.<<Ibid, iii.>> They also profess to have some tradition
relative to assistance rendered at the building of Solomon's temple, but this
may only be one of their modes of hoodwinking the Cowan. Blavatsky, who was an Initiate of the
Sect, informs us that the fundamental principles of Hamsa are chastity, honesty,
meekness, and mercy; and that its basis is the old Ophite Gnosticism, which, in
the most ancient times, claimed immense antiquity as the builders of the
Draconian stone enclosures, scattered over the old world, and even America.
The Society admits, like other Ishmaelite Mystics, an affinity with the Platonic
philosophy, and festivals are held at which raisins and figs are eaten; which it
is thought is one of the tests of membership; it reminds us that priest Cyril of
Jerusalem<<"Catech. Lec.," vi, 23.>> speaks of the "detestable ceremony of the
fig."
The Aspirant before admission has to undergo a long fast, which is entire
on the last day, and a species of trance vision is induced before the ceremony
closes.

"Ainsarii." The Ishmaelite
Sect continued to exist after the destruction of the stronghold of the Old Man
of the Mountain, as the Chief of the Assassins was termed. The most prominent of these is named the
Ainsarii; they hold secret meetings for receptions and have signs, words, and a
Catechism. Lyde, who has
investigated this Sect, {187} classes them with ancient Templars, and Modern
Freemasons.<<"The Asian Mystery," Rev. C. L. Lyde.>>

"Dervishes." The various
"Paths" of the Dervishes are very ancient and spread from branches in Persia and
Egypt. Though their rites and
doctrines vary from one another, the object of all is similar to each other and
to Magian and Indian Yogism, namely, Union with the Deity.
We will take the "Bektash" as typical of the others.
In the 15th century, Bektash of Bokhara, received his "Mantle" from Ahmed
Yesevee, who claimed descent from the father-in-law of Mohamed. On this he proceeded to establish a
"Path," consisting of seven nominal, but four essential degrees. These are magical in their nature,
inasmuch as they aim at establishing an affinity between the Aspirant and the
Sheik, from whom he is led, through the founder, and the Prophet, to Allah. Their Initiatory ceremony is shortly as
follows. After a year's probation,
during which the Aspirant is tested with false secrets a lamb is killed from
which a cord is made for his neck, and a girdle of Initiation for his loins; he
is led into a square chamber, and between two armed attendants, who present him
as a slave who desires to know truth.
He is led by the cord round his neck, and one of the axes used, or carried by
these godfathers is in the writer's possession, bearing on one side the name of
Ali and the other that of Mohamed.
He is then placed before a stone altar on which are twelve escallops. The Sheik, who is attended by eleven
others, grips the hand of the Aspirant in a peculiar way, and administers the
oath of the order, which is equivalent to the Monkish vow of poverty, chastity,
and obedience. He is then informed
that death awaits him if he betrays his order; and he makes his profession
in.the following formula: "Mohamed is my Rheper (guide); Ali is my Murchid
(director)." The Sheik then asks:
"Do you accept me as your Murchid?" and upon an affirmative reply adds: "Then I
accept you as my son."
{188} He is invested with a girdle, on which are three knots, and
receives an alabaster stone as token.
The sign of recognition is that of the first degree in Masonry. Their grace is called the "Gulbend," or
"rose of fraternal love."
Amongst their important symbols are the double triangles {Symbol:
Hexagram} and two triangles joined at the apex {symbol, like an "X" but with the
top and bottom chevrons closed to equilateral triangles}. One of their maxims is, "the man must die
that the saint may be born."<<"The Dervishes," J. P. Brown.>>
As a Jewel they make use of a small marble cube with red spots to typify the
blood of the martyred Ali. The Sects
are not popular with the orthodox Turkish Mussulmans, but all branches swear to
devote themselves to the interests of their order or Path with body and soul. The Jewel of another branch, in
possession of the writer, has at the top a small green stone, and suspended from
this by three silver chains, is a large sized bloodstone, oval; and from this
again is suspended three other chains: the first three chains has two small
silver discs, the second three has each a silver disc and two are double, in all
making seven. The Mantle of the
order has on each shoulder a representation of the Sword of Ali.

Amongst
the immense number of operative Masons employed by the Saracens, there must have
been a large number of such Initiates, but it is not intended by these details
to absolutely identify Freemasonry with the Societies using the formula; but to
shew the existence of certain ancient features in common with the Arcane Schools
in various channels. Yet it is quite
possible that the original Roman ritual of the Guild may have been modified by
the addition of Solomonic legends preserved in the East, or on the other hand
taken "en bloc" from the Jewish Guilds of Syria and Egypt, and the probability
is that the Jews of Spain were in a position to hand on the Guild system, but we
shall enter into this later.

TEMPLARS. The rule of the Templars resembled that
of the Benedictines and Cistercians, and was drawn up by {189} Bernard, Abbot of
Clairvaux, some short time after their establishment in 1118. In it the prelate terms them "Valiant
Maccabees"; they were to wear on their clothing and horses neither gold nor
silver; not to have more than three horses each, because, as he says, they could
not rival "the world renowned temple of Solomon," on the site of which they had
acquired a residence.
The reception was a strictly secret one, which gave rise in 1310 to a
shameful persecution. Before
admission to the Chapter the Aspirant was thrice cautioned as to the rigorous
trials that he would have in becoming a member, and asked if he firmly persisted
in his demands to proceed, and if he responded in the affirmative he was
admitted to the Reception.

In an
old number of "Blackwood's Magazine" appears what professes to be the burial
service of a Templar, no authority is given, but we know no reasons to deny its
authenticity. It is a highly
symbolical ceremony, at which the classes of Preceptors, Knights, and Servitors
were present; and the Grand Master presided with an iron hammer in his hand,
with which three knocks were struck upon an iron cross. The three classes had each an active part
in the ceremony; and in answer to a question of the Grand Master: "Know ye for a
truth that our brother is dead, and ripe for the long sleep of the grave?"
A Serving-brother takes the hand of the corpse and answers: "The flesh cleaves
not to the bone, nor the skin unto the flesh, he is dead."
After other questions seven knights advance to the corpse, and place
their hands upon the head, eyes, face, mouth, heart, hand, and feet with a
fervent blessing, and the corpse is then lowered into the grave.<<"Vide Fre.
Mag.," 1864 p. 205; "Rosicrucian," 1876. p. 75; A. Q. C., vi.
The late Bro. Albert Pike revised the ceremony for the Kadosh burial service of
the A. & A. Rite.>>

It has
been maintained by von Hammer, that the members of the Order were Initiates of
the Cairo House of Wisdom, and the resemblance is peculiar, both had {190}
secret receptions, a similar government, and both used white and red in their
clothing. That they had a secret
reception is beyond doubt, and one of their maxims was that "secrecy is the soul
of the order." Authorities differ
very much as to this secret reception; those who believe in the Gnostic heresy
of the order, assert that such Initiation was adopted from the Saracens about
years 1250-70, and which added to their old Reception, a degree of Professed
wherein the cross was trodden underfoot; a girdle was given to the Initiated; he
was taught an Enlightened Deism, and made a disciple of John the Baptist.
If there was such a ceremony as indicated it would be as a test of obedience.
The third grade, it is said, was for high Officers; a symbolic Gnostic
cord was consecrated by the head of Baphometis, and presented to be worn under
the clothes. Blavatsky says that the
Nazarians of Persia have a tradition that they initiated the Templars.<<"Isis
Unveiled," p. 232.>> The head here
mentioned may allude to two words -- Baphe metios, or Baptism of Wisdom, and
represent the head of John the Baptist; but de Quincey suggests that it is
cabalistically composed in substituting B for P to refer to the Pope and
Mahomet, whose tenets the later Rosicrucians designated "blasphemies of the East
and West." On the other hand the
Secret Mysteries of the Templars are said to have been the Arcane Discipline,
and to have referred to the faith of Christ. Philip le Bel, King of France, and Pope
Clement V. combined in 1309 to suppress them, and in 1313 the latter dissolved
them on the plea of Gnosticism, which would apply to any of these suppositions.

There
was in the time of the plenitude of the Templars a peculiar Culdee legend
travelling around termed the "Quest of the Sangrael;" it was supposed that there
was a lost cup, which had contained the blood of the Saviour, that could only be
found by a chaste Knight who journeyed in search of it. It had, if found, various magical
properties, oracular answers to enquiries could be {191} read thereon. Von Hammer professes to read the "Graal"
upon certain old offertory dishes which he considers to have been Templar
property, but his views have not been generally credited. There are yet certain ceremonies
practised alluding to Joseph, Jesus, and Mary, said to have been of Culdee
origin, that have a sober resemblance to the Quest.
The Mystic tradition may hide the old blood baptism of the Mysteries. Eugene Aroux speaks very positively of an
Albigensian and Templar connection with the legend, which is supposed to have
some basis in the Gospel of Nicodemus.
San Marte takes the same view and lays stress upon the use by the
Templars, at the Lord's Supper of the opening words of St. John's Gospel. The Rev. Baring Gould gives credit to a
Templar connection with the Mythos.
Von Hammer says the poem of Titurel is nothing but an allegory of the Society of
Templars and its doctrine and one with the Gnostic and Ophite symbols. This legend is a lengthy subject to write
upon, but it is necessary to say something upon it.

The
origin of the Graal legend is curious, romantic, and ancient. The Persians have a legend of a golden
cup discovered in making the foundations of Persepolis which they named the
"Goblet of the Sun"; we have also the Hermesian cup in the Poemander.
There is also the Welsh legend of Peridur, which means "Companion of the Bowl." Peridur enters a castle, and two young
men enter a room, where he is seated, with a lance from which falls three gouts
of blood, which the company seeing set up a lamentation; then enter two damsels,
with a charger in which is a head swimming in blood, and the company utter a
piercing wail. The bowl here is the
Cauldron of Ceridwen, and the blood is the three drops of her brew that
conferred intuition. In Hanover
there is some Templar connection with a charger and the head of John the
Baptist, to be mentioned later.
Taliesen's poem of Bran the blessed mentions the bowl of Pheredur, which could
restore the dead to life, "but those who were restored to life by it were not to
speak lest they should {192} divulge the mysteries of the vessel." Bran sails to the "Island of Joy," with
39 Companions.

M.
Pauline de Paris mentions the "Liber Gradalis" of a British priest about 30
years after the death of Cadwallader.
About the year 717 the priest had a vision of Christ, and of Joseph of
Arimethea, who brought the cup to this country, with the blood of Christ.

These
legends admit their indebtedness to the Moslem legends, and there can be no
doubt as to what that legend is; it refers to the erection by Abraham of the
Temple of Seth, which we refer to elsewhere, in which on the petition of Adam an
etherial temple was let down in appearance to which Adam could direct his
prayers.

The more modern version of the legend was
compiled about 1189, under the title of "Sir Coules del Grail," by Chretien de
Troies. Saniber, prince of
Cappadocia in the days of Vespasian, had three sons, who went eventually to
Rome; and his great-great grandson Titur-el was the Graal King, and the pure and
noble Knight. When dying the Graal
King instructed his children in the mystery, and the Knights had explained to
them the symbols, ceremonies, and the powers of the 12 precious stones. Shortly after we have the version of
Guyot de Provens, who had been a monk with Bernard of Clairvaux, and visited
Jerusalem about the year 1170; it was an elaborated version of the preceding,
which the author as well as Guy de Provens attributed to the Arabian astrologer
and philosopher Flegantan. This was
translated into German about the year 1207 by Wolfram von Eschenbach, and would
be known in 1248 when Conrad von Hochstetten laid the foundation stone of
Cologne Cathedral. Later on another
version was completed by Alfred von Scharfenberg. In the oldest account Titurel builds the
Graal temple, but in this last version it is Parsifal, grandson of Titurel, who
is selected to build a magnificent temple upon a design miraculously shown on
curtains of light, and upon a mount called "Saviour's Mount" placed in the midst
of a "square" wood, the temple {193} itself was to be "round," as are the
Templar churches.
The plan appears miraculously upon a stone, and indicated an inner
Sanctuary to hold the Graal, which was to be guarded by chaste Temple, or
Templar Knights, for both these forms are used in different MSS. The groining of the roof was to shew a
lamb holding a red cross banner in its claws (a Templar standard). The Lecterns were to have carved
Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, and their "wise saws"; and in one of these MSS.
England is named in connection with four crowns, four virgin martyrs, and their
legends.<<"Freem. Quart. Mag.," 1853; also "Canadian Craftsman," 1892.>>
Besides the Glastonbury legend of this cup and the account of the Romances of
King Arthur, another claim is made for a Sapphire cup in the monastery of
Richeneau, Lake Constance, founded by Charles Martel in 725; there is also a
third claim for a cup said to have been brought from the East by the Crusaders,
and lodged at Genoa; it is now believed to be made of green glass.

A
Benedictine Monk of St. Werburgh in Chester, where the Polychronicon was
compiled, often quoted in Guild MSS., Hy. Bradshaw, who died in 1513, has some
very similar ideas wherein he is describing the feast of King Ulpha given at the
Abbey of Ely, when his daughter Werburge took the veil.
The tale also runs on the line of the old Masonic Constitutions. The tapestry of cloth of gold and arras. The story of Adam, of his wife Eve, and
how they were deceived was "goodly wrought." Cain and Abel making their offering. Tubal and Tubal Cain were pourtrayed,
"the inventours of Musike and Crafte."

"Noe and his shyppe was made there curyously,

Sendying forthe a raven which never came again,

And how the dove returned with a branch hastily."

Abraham was there on a mount to offer up Isaac. The 12 Sons of Jacob; Joseph sold into
Egypt. Moses "wyse and bolde."
Our Lorde appearing in a bush on fire.
The 10 plagues of Egypt embossed.
The two tables given to Moses.
Dathan and Abyrom "full youre." Duke
Josue leading the Israelites to the land of promise. {194} Pharaoh and the Red
Sea. King Saul and David and prudent Solomon. Rehobom, Hezekiah, and his generacion. "And so to the Machabees and dyvers other
nacyons." But over the highest dais,
where three kings sat crowned, was represented the IX Angelical orders divided
into III hierarchies.
Holy! Holy! Lord God of Sabaoth. Three persons in one deity.

Then
followed representatives of the Virgin, the 12 Apostles, and the 4 Evangelists
teaching and preaching "the faythe of holy chyrche." Martyrs followed, the Innocents, St.
Stephen, St. Laurence, St. Vincent.

Virgins
crowned, some with the lily, others with roses for their great victory. On the other side of the Hall were noble,
ancient stories, Sampson, Hector of Troy, Noble Anthony, with many others. At the feast which followed each spake
freely: --

"Knyghtes of theyr chivalry, of Crafts the common."

The
evidence of Titurel speaks well for the Templars, yet it is possible that some
of the Preceptories may have introduced Oriental Rites and Symbols. Von Hammer, confirmed by Hallam and other
writers, states that in various Preceptories their most secret place (crypt)
contains indecent emblems sculptured, without particularly describing these.
It may be said that one of these is a female figure holding in each hand a
staff, at the head of one of which is the sun, and on the other the moon, whilst
at her feet is the five-pointed star and other symbols.
This is Basilidean in its character and there are references to the Templars
confirming a statement "by Sun and Moon."
Addison mentions a copper medallion, intended to be worn around the neck by a
chain, and which was found in France; it consists of the double equilateral
triangles interlaced, and enclosed within two circles, and in the centre is the
lamb and banner of the Temple.
Clavel, quoted by Oliver,<<"Hist. Land.," ii, p. 355.>> says that in the 17th
century there was discovered in the grave of a Templar in Germany, who died
before the dissolution of the order, {195} "a stone cube inscribed with the
square and compasses, the pentalpha, the celestial sphere, a star of five
points, and several other stars."
Eliphas Levi says that, "a box was found in the ruins of an old
Commandery in which was a Baphometic figure.
It had a bearded face with a woman's body. In one hand it held the sun, in the other
the moon, by chains." (Gould's N. & Q. xi. p. 188.) Von Hammer mentions Templar churches at
Erfurt, Schoengraben, and Prague, as containing such emblems -- the square,
level, triangle, compasses, compasses with quadrant, interlaced triangles, the
flaming star, the Tau cross of Egypt.
All such matter confirms the charge of Gnosticism, but such decoration may be
due to the Masons who erected the Churches; and the symbolism equally with the
Reception of a Templar have points of affinity.
The Templars were large builders, and Jacques de Molay alleged the zeal
of his order in decorating churches on the process against him, 1310, hence the
alleged connection of Templary and Freemasonry is bound to have a substratum of
truth. A French version of the
Compagnnonage asserts that, during a dispute, a section placed themselves under
the patronage of Jacques de Molay, the Master who was roasted to death on an
island in the Seine in 1314 by the vicious scoundrel Philip le Bel. Nicolai, quoted in "Acta Latamorum,"
asserts that in Italy are several churches formerly belonging to the Templars,
which have preserved the name "l'eglise de la Mason," as derived from the table
Masa, a club, that is tyled by a Mace or club; but Paciandi considers the
derivation to be from Magione, as the places were used for residences; there are
some such in France as well as Italy.
Besides the symbols already mentioned an old writer of the name of
Assemani mentions a shield, on which is the lamb, the cup, and two crossed
torches. The last was a Mythraic
symbol, and the chalice or cup was a common symbol of the order. They used the cross patee, the equilimbed
cross, the Latin cross, the patriarchal cross; in later times they adopted the
Eagle as a symbol. Recently a
Lecture by Brother F. F. Schnitger has shown that most {196} of the Charges of
1310 are explicable, by an evil construction being placed on ceremonies in use
by the Masonic branch of the order last century.
There is a body in France of which Philip of Orleans was the Grand Master
in 1705, which claims to have continued the order;<<Vide Ars Quat. Cor., iv,
Yarker.>> in Portugal it changed its name to Knights of Christ; in Scotland it
preserved its name, owing to the wars that Bruce was conducting against England,
and in Hungary it continued to exist in name.

Frater
Ladislas de Malczovich, of Budapesth, has made a study of Templar history,
tracing them in their Standards, Badges, and Seals, and divides these into three
periods: --

1. The
"Beauseant," of black and white, was the standard of the Hospitallers of St.
John before the institution of the Temple Order, and are moreover their colours.
But on the grant of a Red Cross they assumed the "Vexillum Belli," a white
standard charged with a red cross; and they then attached a secret Mystery to
the old black and white standard, with a plain cross.
In the third period they used the cross "patee," in place of the plain cross.

There
were also three periods in the Seals.
The first was two Knights on one horse.
This is superseded by the head of Christ crowned with thorns, and it has three
stars placed triangularwise. The
last Seal is found near the Order's dissolution, and is a single-headed eagle
with wings expanded, upon a high rock, and looking heaven-wards; at the top is a
small cross "patee" and two stars.

Of
their crosses we find the following in use: -- the "patee;" the elongated cross;
the patriarchal cross; also a plain equal-limbed cross with a lamb in the centre
holding the red cross banner.

Armorially, they used the crossed torches, a chalice, and the Agnus Dei upon a
shield. There are various instances in Sculpture
which prove the importance of the Chalice symbol; in some cases Knights are
represented as holding it aloft, and there is also a representation of two
serving {197} brethren with one arm round each other, whilst the right hand, in
one figure, holds the chalice, and the other has a book under the arm, which is
considered to allude to it, and to be one with the Chalice of the Graal.

1st
Period: "Beauseant," Black and White.
"Seal": Two Knights on one horse. Implying, death to infidels, friendship
to Christians.

3rd
Period: Standard, White with red cross patee.
"Seal": An Eagle. The
independent and high flying policy of the Order.

The
French Templars adopted a Gospel called the "Leviticon," which they alleged was
discovered in the Temple at Paris, with other things; and Heckethorn states that
it was composed in the 15th century by a Greek Monk Nicephorus, who sought to
combine Moslem tenets with Christianity.

POETICAL GNOSTICISM, TROUBADOURS, GAY SCIENCE.

The persecution of the enlightened by the Church of Rome
necessitated various disguises by the Sectarians -- Poetical, Artistic,
Theosophic and Hermetic --and it could not be otherwise; humanity, in the
abstract, seldom abandons that which it "knows" to be true and takes steps to
transmit it through the centuries: truth never dies. One of the modes employed was to speak,
or write, in a language that will bear a double interpretation, the one intended
for the ordinary hearer, and the other for the Initiate who had the Key of
interpretation. Masonic MSS. term it the arts of Logic
and Rhetoric. This custom was
undoubtedly prevalent in the most ancient times and Mythology, Cabalism, etc., are examples of it. Heckethorn mentions certain "Knights of
the Swan," who sang in this speech in the early part of the 12th century, and
the same writer observes that the Minstrels and Troubadours of France were
divided into four degrees. It is
{198} very probable that many of our own northern minstrels transmitted from the
time of the Culdees, who existed until the Templar persecutions, an anti-papal
programme, and were in the secrets of the Continental Minstrels in the time of
Wycliffe, and later. The artistic
participation in this propaganda is shewn in the way that the vices of clerics
and monks are satirised by stone and wood carvers; as in the representation of
an ape carrying the Host; a nun in the lewd embrace of a monk; or a pope amongst
the damned.<<Findel, "Hist. Freem." >>

Gabriel
Rossetti<<"Disq. on the anti-papal spirit which produced the Reformation.">>
shews that the species of writing which we have named was introduced from the
East by the Manichees, who passed it on to the Cathari, Albigensis, Ghibellines,
and Templars, through whom it spread over Europe.
Logic was considered by them the science of expressing thought in a subtle
manner. Many persecutions arose from this species
of writing, but the Papal Conclave at length determined to close its eyes,
rather than make the allegory apparent to all the world. The reformation liberated to the world
various Mystic Societies. With the
object of proving his views he quotes largely from Dante, Petrarch, Boccacio,
and other poets and writers of the middle ages, and arrives at the conclusion
that there existed three principle branches of Sectaries, which indoctrinated
their Disciples by a secret Initiation of seven or nine degrees, according to
the Rite or Sect. The allegory used
was often that of a journey, and to go on a Pilgrimage to the temple of St. John
signified to become a proselyte of the Templars; to go to St. James in Galicia
was to be of the Albigensis; and St. Peter's at Rome of the Ghibellines; the
Albigensis, in alluding to the first named, expressed Faith; to the second Hope,
and to the last Charity. We have an
Oriental pilgrimage in Boccacio's "Filocopo," which means a young workman; seven
Companions figure in this account; the names of four are already known to the
Pilgrim and represent the Cardinal {199} virtues; the other three are unknown
until he has accomplished his journey, or initiation, upon which it appears that
they are Faith, Hope, and Charity; in allusion thus to the ancient ladder of the
Mysteries of 3, 7, or 12 steps.
The object was to found a Christian Jerusalem to rival Rome; and the
allegory frequently alludes to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the return of its
people; the later Reformers drew upon the same idea as we will show. The writer has, however, gone over this
more at length in an earlier book, and space does not admit of it here.<<"Notes
on Sc. and Relg. Mysteries," 1872.>>
An acute and learned historian<<"Philosophy of History," Fredk. von
Schlegel, p. 456>> takes a similar view, on the spirit of the age, and has the
following, in which he is alluding to Freemasonry: "As to the origin of this
esoteric influence, the impartial historical enquirer cannot doubt, whatever
motives or views some may have to deny the fact, or throw doubt on its
authenticity, that the Order of Templars was the channel by which this society,
in its ancient and long preserved form, was introduced into the West.
The religious Masonic symbols may be accounted for by the Solomonian traditions
connected with the very foundation of the Templars, and indeed the occasion of
these symbols may be traced in other passages of holy writ, and in other parts
of sacred history, and they may very well admit of a Christian interpretation. Traces of these symbols may be found in
the monuments of the old German architecture of the middle ages."<<"Philosophy
of History," Fredk. von Schlegel, p. 456>>

Rossetti holds also that Barbarossa, Henry VII. and Frederick II., are the
leading characters referred to in the double language of Dante's works. The latter was the grandson of Frederick
Barbarosso (Red Beard) who died in Syria at the head of 150,000 Crusaders. The Popes thrice excommunicated the
grandson, whom Matthew Paris terms the "wonder of the world" ("Stupor Mundi et
immutator Mirabalis"), and truly he was -- he was suspected as a heretic even a
Moslem, hereditary King of Sicily, he was the last Christian King of Jerusalem,
the last who ruled {200} the holy land, or wore a crown in the holy city; the
most successful of the Crusaders since Godfrey de Bouillon, and gained Jerusalem
by policy; was excommunicated for going there; excommunicated for coming back;
excommunicated as a Sectarian, of which the Pope distinctly accuses him, and
there is a fable of 1378 by John of Florence, in which he is named as a man
"fond of the 'gentle language.'" There is no doubt it is this man whom in
1767 Morin mistook for Frederick II. of Prussia in the Rite of Heredom, which
see later.

We have
said that the art of expressing things to bear a double meaning was taught as
part of the "Trivium," and Dante, who is thought to have been a lay Brother of
the Templars himself tells Con Grande that the "Divine Comedy" admits of four
keys of interpretation -- literal, allegorical, moral, and mystical.
He speaks of Christ as "Him our Pelican," an Egyptian Symbol of the Sothic
cycle, the bird being mystically said to fly every 1260 years to the altar of
the Sun at Heliopolis, where it was consumed by fire, and out of its own ashes
restored to life. Ozanam, a Roman
Catholic, considers the "Divine Comedy" to follow the same lines as an
Initiation into the Mysteries of Egypt.
Vecchioni, president of the Supreme Court at Naples, took the same view, and
sought unsuccessfully, to print a book thereon, to prove that such Initiation
had been handed down by philosophers and poets, and that the "Divine Comedy" was
arranged after the plan of a "Teletes," ending in an "Eposis," or divine vision.
Loiseleur, a French writer, considers the teachings of the Sects as
closely connected with the Euchites, and both Cathari and Templars girdled
themselves with a white thread like the Hindu and Persian Mystics. They made use also of Symbolic ages, as is done
to define degrees. Reghellini of
Scio treats Dante as a Cabalist and Rosicrucian. King<<"The Gnostics and their Remains.">>
quotes the 18th canto of the "Purgatory" as "replete with the profoundest
symbolism which the Freemasons claim for their own," to wit, the imperial {201}
eagle; the mystic ladder; the rose and cross; pelican; supper of the lamb;
pillars of Faith, Hope, and Charity; symbolic colours; letters and geometric
figures, as point, circle, triangle, square; the trampling of crown and mitre
under foot; the "Vito Nuovo," and the "Convito" or Banquet being equally
mystical. To these may be added the
Invocation of Divine vengeance upon the destroyers of the Templars, and the
choice of St. Bernard as the High priest.<<Vide "Theos. Rev.," viii, Cath.
Hillard.>> It is not, however, the
Masonry of the Guild, but that which has been added thereto.

Mrs.
Cooper-Oakley has some pregnant remarks upon the TROUBADOURS, who were the
undoubted poets of the Albigensian heresy; and quotes Baret's Paris work of 1867
as to the following Schools, all of which were again subdivided into groups: --
That of Aquitaine; of Auvergne; of Rodez; of Languedoc; of Provence.
Again classified as: -- The Gallant; the Historical; the Didactic; the
Satirical; and the purely Theological.
Again of the Mystical; the Hermetic.
Aroux demonstrates that their "Celestial Chivalry" was derived from the
"Albigensian Gospel," whose Evangel was again derived from the
Manichaean-Marcion tradition. These Albigensis were identical with the
Cathari, and the Troubadours were the links bearing the secret teaching from one
body to another. "Thus one sees them
taking every form by turns, artizans, colporteurs, pilgrims, weavers, colliers .
. . . deprived of the right to speak they took to singing."

Amongst
the most illustrious of the Troubadours was Alphonso the Second, King of
Arragon, 1162-96. Peter the Second
of Arragon was the principal ally of the Albigensis and Troubadours, and in 1213
perished nobly in their cause at the Battle of Muret.
Escaping from their burnt and bloody homes, not a few of them hastened to
the Court of Arragon, where they were sure of protection. Says Ticknor, in his "Hist. Spanish
Literature," London, 1849: "Religious romances were written....in the {202} form
of Allegories, like the 'Celestial Chivalry,' the 'Christian Chivalry,' the
'Knight of the Bright Star'; and the 'Celestial Chivalry,' of Hieronimo de San
Pedro (Valencia, 1554) uses such titles as (1) 'The Root of the fragrant Rose,'
and (2) 'The Leaves of the Rose.'" In the paths of the Dervishes the
candidate is said to "take the rose" of the path.

The
basis of the Christian legend of the Graal is said to be found in apocryphal
gospel of Nicodemus, which was translated into Provencal verse, "a Mystical
Gospel" in every sense, says Paulin Paris, who in referring to the MS. in the
Vatican (of the Graal), further writes: "This latter text was of great antiquity
and evidently mystical, showing a profound knowledge of the Apocryphal Gospel
concerning the secret teachings of the Eucharist."

Eugene
Aroux thus speaks of the grades of the Troubadours: "Like the other Aspirants to
the Sectarian priesthood they went into seminaries or lodges to receive
instruction; then having become deacons or squires, having undergone tests and
given required pledges, they were admitted to the rank of Perfect Knights, or
Perfect Troubadours. Having thus
graduated they started in the character of Missionaries or of Pilgrims of Love,
as Dante says, sometimes undertaking long and dangerous journeys " -- "i.e.," as
Wild or Errant Knights. (Aroux).

ROSICRUCIANISM. In the 13th
century we have traces of an organised body of men professedly Christian, who
had organised themselves after the manner of the Oriental Societies. The name with which we head this article
had not then become prominent, but at a later period it became the generic title
by which everything of the nature of Cabalism, Theosophy, Alchemy, Astrology,
and Mysticism was designated.

It is
stated in a Rosicrucian MS., lying at Cologne under the nom-de-plume of Omnis
Moriar, that a Society termed the Magical Union was established at this city in
the year 1115. F. C. E. Weise
mentions it<<"Rosenkreutzer in seiner Blosse," -- Amdsterdam, 1786.>> and gives
{203} the conditions for entering this body of "Wise Men," the last and youngest
possessors of the secrets of the ancients; the Initiates wore a triangle as
symbolising power, wisdom, and love.
They had secret sciences, known only to the highest among them, called
Mu-alpha-gamma-omicron-sigma, Mage, or Wise Masters, able to do things that
seemed supernatural. Traces of an organised body are to be
found in the "Rosary" of Arnold de Villanova, "circa" 1230, inasmuch as the
Cabalistic term of "Sons of the Order" is used. In the "Theoria" of Raymond Lulli "circa"
1322 there is a passage in which mention is made of a "Societas Physicorum," and
also of a "Rex Physicorum." Also in the "Theatrum Chemicum
Argentoratum," 1628, a Count von Falkenstein, Prince Bishop of Treves in the
14th century, is termed "Most Illustrious and Serene Prince and father of
Philosophers." Hence it would seem
that besides the Moorish Schools which existed in Spain, there were similar
associations amongst Christians.
It is not difficult to account for the transmission of such Brotherhoods
from ancient times, since the Cabalists and Gnostics studied the secret arts,
and it is quite probable that the persecutions to which these were subjected
were prompted rather by alarm than any real abhorrence of their pretended
heretical doctrine. A few of the
more curious and important works may be mentioned here.

The
"Romance of the Rose" is an Initiative system in the Allegory of the Gay
Science, in which the term Love is used Theosophically. Eliphas Levi says: "It is the most curious literary and
scientific work of the middle ages, it carries on the chain of the tradition of
Initiation." Heckethorn holds that,
"it divides the degrees into four and three, producing again the Mystic number
seven . . . . it describes a castle surrounded by a sevenfold wall, which is
covered with emblematical figures, and no one was admitted into the castle who
could not explain their mysterious meaning." Amant is admitted into this beautiful
garden, which is surrounded by walls on which is painted figures of 9 vices,
such as hatred, envy, avarice, {204} etc.
Discourses take place between the ladies and gentles assembled, and at
the close Amant appears as an armed Pilgrim, wearing a scarf and bearing on his
shoulders the usual burthen, with description of how he succeeded in introducing
it through the wicket of the Tower, and "gathers the roses," upon which he
returns thanks to Venus, her son, and the nobles assembled.
The work was begun by William de Lorris, about 1282, as the Templars and other
Orders are mentioned, and the early use of the word Macon appears in it.
It was completed by Jean de Meung, and Geoffrey Chaucer translated it.
Meung wrote also, "The Treasure" or seven articles of the faith, "The Testament,
the Codical," on life and Morals, also two poems, entitled, "The Remonstrance of
Nature to the wandering Alchemist," and "The Reply of the Alchemist to Nature."

Other
Societies would seem to have abandoned art, and confined themselves, like the
Dervish sects, to a Mysticism which aimed at "uniting its members to God."
Brother R. F. Gould relates that the famous Dominican John Tauler, who was born
in 1290 and died in 1361, established a Fraternity the members of which
concealed their place of burial and recognised each other by secret signs.
He was followed by Nicholas of Basle, who had four companions, styling
themselves "Friends of God," in whom they sought to be "wrapped up"; these also
had secret signs of recognition.

The
most noted Alchemist of this century was Nicholas Flamel, a poor scrivener of
Paris, who, by the art, became enormously rich.
He purchased for 2 florins in 1357 an ancient book bound in brass, which
appeared to be written on leaves made from the bark of trees, perhaps the
papyrus; it was subscribed by "Abraham the Jew, Prince, Priest, Levite,
Astrologer, and Philosopher." It had
thrice 7 leaves, and every seventh leaf was a picture, symbolising the Great
Work. Flamel travelled about in search of some
one who could aid him in interpreting the contents, and after much loss of time,
trouble, and {205} experiments, he succeeded in making gold. According to his own account he bestowed
the riches thus acquired in erecting and endowing 10 churches, 3 chapels, and 14
hospitals in Paris alone, and others in two other cities, besides aiding
indigent families. He relates how in
the Church of the Innocents, Rue St. Denis, Paris, he caused to be erected
"Hieroglyphical Couvertures," of the art of transmutation, under veils of the
"Mysteries of our Salvation." We learn from a recent reprint that the
Count de Cabrines told Borel, that the actual book of Abraham the Jew passed
into the possession of the celebrated Cardinal Richelieu.<<"Nic. Flamel," Pref.
Dr. W. W. Westcott (Fryar, Bath).>>

In the
possession of a German gentleman, to whom we will refer later, there is a copy
of an old MS. which claims to be of the year 1374, that mentions the
"Fraternitas Rosae Crucis," and it was in the year 1378 that the beginning of
the Fraternity was attributed to Christian Rosenkreutz. Up to this period there is a lack of the
nature of Alchemical Symbolism, but the following is beyond doubt. Borel describes the house erected at
Montpelier, about the year 1450 by the celebrated French traveller and financier
Jacques Cuer or Coeur. It was named
"La Loge," and Coeur is represented on the frieze with a "trowel in his hand."
"Three porches may there be seen in the form of a furnace; similar to
those of Nicholas Flamel. On one
there is, on one side, a "sun" all over fleur-de-lis, and on the other a full
"moon" also covered with fleur-de-lis, and surrounded by a hedge or crown as it
were of thorns, which seem to denote the solar and lunar stone arrived at
perfection. On another portal is
seen, on one side, a fruit-tree with branches of roses at its foot, and on the
tree the arms of Jacques Coeur.
On the other is an escutcheon, and within it what would appear to
represent the chemic character of the sun.
On the third portal, which is in the midst, there is on one side a stag
bearing a banner, and having a collar of fleur-de-lis environed with a branch of
a tree, to represent Mercury, {206} or the philosophical matter, which at the
commencement is volatile and light as in the stag; on the other side is a shield
of France supported by two griffins."

This
symbolism has nothing in common with that of Flamel, who does not profess to
have been an Initiate, but one who having acquired some oral information of the
first agent of the work, acquired the art by experiments conducted by himself
with the aid of his wife; but on the other hand it is much in keeping with that
of Abraham the Jew, and therefore argues a great antiquity. The whole symbolism is so equally Masonic
and Alchemical that it would be difficult to say definitely to which Society it
belongs; both Societies seem to have a common transmission, the one as a
building, the other as a Mystic Fraternity; the natural inference here, on this
evidence, is that Coeur was a member of both Societies, and that he combined the
symbols. Alchemically the Sun and
Moon signify gold and silver; the chemic character of the sun is a point within
a circle; the branch of a tree, said to represent Mercury, has nothing to define
the species. It may be mentioned
here that the Syrian Mysteries of Adonis represented the slain God as changed by
Venus into a red rose; and Theodoratus, Bishop of Cyrus in Syria, asserts that
the Gnostics deemed "Ros" to be a symbol of the Saviour; the Egyptians
considered the rose as a symbol of regeneration and love, and as the Latin word
Rosa is derived from Ros, the dew, it has a relation with baptism; hence the
rose-tree in Christian symbolism is the image of the regenerated, whilst dew is
the symbol of regeneration.
In the Crypt of St. Sibald's in Nuremberg, is a double triangle,
interlaced with a circle, within which is a rose.

Basil
Valentine, who flourished at the same time as Jacques Coeur, in his "Azoth
Philosophorum," has a figure which is thus described: it represents a
winged-globe on which is a triangle inside a square, upon which reposes a
dragon; on the latter stands a human figure with two heads, and two hands;
surrounding the heads, one of {207} which is male and the other female, are the
sun, moon; and five stars; the hand on the male side holds a compass, that on
the other a square. The symbolism
here clearly alludes to the dual sexual nature of all metals. In "The Triumphant Chariot of Antimony"
it is asserted that the Adept should be capable of building his own furnaces.

The
most noted of the Alchemists after this date was Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus
Bombast of Hohenheim, who was born in 1493, and died in 1541, and there is a
strong suspicion that it was from injuries inflicted by his enemies. Whilst travelling in the East he was
taken prisoner by the Tartars, who treated him kindly, and the Khan sent him
with his son to Constantinople; it is probable that he studied Magic in these
regions. He had studied Magnetism
and initiated medical treatment by mercury and opium. Franz Hartman, M.D., has shewn the
identity of his teaching with the Eastern Adepts of the Secret Doctrine. His philosophy divides man into seven
principles of the outer and inner body; (1) the visible body; (2) the mumia,
archaeus, or vital force; (3) the sideral body, which gradually dissolves; (4)
the animal soul, common to all things; (5) the rational soul; (6) the aluech, or
spiritual soul; (7) new olympus, or divine spirit, which must be caught and
bound to the other principles if man is to become immortal. He fills the elements with spirits of
many kinds, and mentions the Flagae, who act as our guides and familiars, and
instruct us in the sciences. He
designates himself "Monarch of Philosophers," and the "Comte de Gabalis," a work
of 1675-80 definitely states that he was elected "Monarch" of the Rosicrucian
Society.

We will
now refer to a few Societies which seem to have been Cabalistic or Speculative
rather than Alchemical, but with a tinge of the Sciences. Between the years 1400 to "circa" 1790
there existed at Lubeck a Guild called the "Compass Brothers" which met twice a
year; their badge was a compass and sector suspended from a crowned letter "C,"
over which was a radiated triangular plate; in {208} 1485 they adopted chains
composed of these emblems united by eagles' tails.<<"Ars Quat. Cor., iii, p.
120.>> About the year 1480 a Society was
established at Rome under the name of the "Platonic Academy;" it was a revival
of the School of Plato, and the Hall in which they met is said to contain
Masonic emblems. Another Society,
which may have sprung out of it, was the "Brotherhood of the Trowel," at
Florence. It was composed of eminent architects,
sculptors, and painters, and continued until last century. There are some old drawings in Paris
which represent its members as Labourers, Assistants, and Masters; the latter
appear with a trowel in their hands and a hammer in their girdle; to the
Labourers are assigned pails, hods of mortar, the windlass, mallet, chisel, and
rough ashlar. Their patron was St.
Andrew, whose festival was commemorated annually by peculiar ceremonies allied
to the old Mysteries, such as the descent into Hades through the jaws of a
serpent.<<"Freem. Mag.," 1868, xvii, p. 131.>> The celebrated Inigo Jones, to whom
Anderson attributes quarterly meetings on the model of the Italian Schools, may
possibly have known something of this Society.
Pico de Mirandola and Reuchlin gave themselves to the study of Cabalism
and Theurgy, as did the Abbe Trithemius who was the friend, instructor, and
co-labourer of Cornelius Agrippa.
Use was made at this period of a form of the Masonic cypher in 9 chambers, with
a Key which being dissected and triply dotted gave 27 letters. Trithemius attributes this to the
ancients, and he gives numerous cyphers.<<Vide Barrett's "Magus.">>
Agrippa established in Paris and elsewhere a secret "Theosophical Society" with
peculiar Rites of admission, and signs of recognition, and when he was in London
in 1510 as the guest of Dean Collet he established a branch in that city.
There is a letter of Landulph's to Agrippa introducing a native of Nuremberg who
was dwelling at Lyons, and whom he "hopes may be found worthy to become one of
the Brotherhood." Agrippa says, as to Alchemy, that he
{209} could tell many things were he not "as one Initiated sworn to secrecy."
Eirenaes Philalethes, whose real name is not certainly known, and who was author
of several Rosicrucian works, 1667-78, terms Agrippa "Imperator" of the Order.
Agrippa distinctly states that outside operative Alchemy, which is vain and
fictitious when practised literally, there is another to be sought within man's
own self in the operation of the internal spirit.<<Vide Barrett's "Magus," p.
179.>> There is a possibility that
the well-known "Charter of Cologne" may have reference to these Brotherhoods; it
professes to be signed in 1535, by the representatives of 19 lodges, assembled
at Cologne on the Rhine, and amongst these signatories are those of Coligny and
Melancthon; these somewhat doubtful Lodges do not profess in the document to be
operative, but to have sprung out of the Masonry dedicated to John, about the
year 1440.
An American writer attributes to John Bunyan the allegory of Initiation
in his "Pilgrim's Progress;"<<"American Freemn.," 1865.>> it is not very
satisfactory but Bunyan's "Solomon's Temple Spiritualised" was probably used in
the 18th century, for Craft and Arch Lectures.

"Rosy
Cross." There are traces in 1484 of
a Rosicrucian Order at Sleswick, in Denmark: "Fraternitatus Rosarii Sleswicii
condito, anno, 1484."<<"A.Q.C.," v, p. 67.>>
Early in the 17th century there are traces that the King was head of such an
order.<<Private Letter.>> Again,
last century, such an order unconnected with Freemasonry was patronised by the
King and seems to have consisted of seven degrees, according to the statement of
an aged Danish physician to Colonel W. J. B. M'Leod Moore, who connects it with
the Arcane Discipline; though its immediate source will be the Order of Rosy
Cross; and it will be sometime found that the peculiar aspect of Swedish Masonry
is due to this old Danish System.

A
Society termed "Militia Crucifera Evangelica" held a meeting at Lunenberg in
1571; and one Simon Studion {210} wrote a book in 1604 entitled "Naometria," or
Temple Measuring, or the Temple opened by the key of David, referring mystically
to the inner and outer man carried to the temple of the New Jerusalem; the MS.
refers to the Rose and Cross, and to the "Militia Crucifera."
A Society called the "Friends of the Cross," existing in Holland, is said to
have joined an operative Lodge of Freemasons before the year 1726, when Count
Spork, who had been initiated therein, according to Brother Malczovich,
established a Lodge in Austria in that year, and a medal was struck, of which
one side represents the New Jerusalem.<<Vide "A.Q.C.">>

In the
year 1614 appeared anonymously a work entitled the "Fame and Confession of the
Rosy Cross." It relates the Eastern
travels of a certain Christian Rosenkreutz, at the end of the 14th century, who
was Initiated at Damascus into the Secret Wisdom of the Arabians, Chaldeans, and
Gymnosophists; then after visiting Egypt and Morocco, he returned to Germany,
where he established a small fraternity, which was to be continued secretly for
120 years, each brother, before he died, to appoint his successor.
At the close of 120 years, that is about 1604, some alterations were made in
their temple of the Holy Spirit, when his remains were found intact with the
book T in his hand. All the paraphernalia and instruments
were there necessary to constitute the Order.
The work informs us that they had received the Order

"from the Arabians. . . . The Eastern countries have been always
famous for Magical and Secret Societies."
Here the founder translated the book M (Marginal, "Liber Mundi") into
good Latin. The "Fame" was to be
translated into five languages, that even the unlearned might hope to belong to
the Fraternity, "the which should be divided and parted into certain degrees."
They exacted "vows of silence and secrecy," and "though they held out the
Rose as a remote prize, they imposed the Cross on those who are entering."
The mention of a book which contains all that has yet been written in other
books is supposed {211} by some writers (perhaps unnecessarily) to refer to the
Tarot.

Another
work, entitled, "The Echo of the Divinely Illuminated Fraternity of the R.C.,"
1615, asks the question whether the Gospel put an end to the secret tradition
and answers it thus: "By no means; Christ established a new College of Magic
amongst his disciples, and the Greater Mysteries were revealed to St. John and
St. Paul." This, Brother Findel
points out, was a claim of the Carpocratian Gnostics. There exists in the library of the
University of Leyden a MS. by Michael Maier which sets forth that in 1570 the
Society of the old Magical brethren or Wise Men was revived under the name of
the Brethren of the Golden Rosy Cross.
The "Fame and Confession" is usually attributed to J. V. Andrea, but Brother Dr.
W. Wynn Westcott points out that though the two tracts may have been edited by
this author they are apparently of different eras. The "Fame" shews no evidence of a divided
Christianity, but ranks only against Mohammedanism, whilst the "Confession" is
Lutheran, and implies a post-reformation date.

Andrea
is admittedly author of "Christian Mythology," Strasburg, 1619; and "Ehrenreich
Hohenfelder von Aister Haimb," 1623, in which are the following lines,
translated by Brother F. F. Schnitger: --

"And if we here below would learn,

By compass, needle, square, and plumb.

We never must o'erlook the meet,

Wherewith our God has measured us."

Andrea employed himself in spreading a Society called the
"Christian Fraternity," no doubt a branch of the older Societies of the Cross,
and lists of members are preserved beyond the date of his death in 1654.<<de
Quincey.>> The Universities had
their Scholastic oaths, Luther and Fludd mentions them, and they would seem to
have had formal Rites, for the latter in his "Mosaicall Philosophy," 1659 (p.
31) {212} repudiates "any allegiance which I have by a ceremonial rite vowed
unto Aristotle in my youth." Michael Maier, who published his
"Silentia post Clamores," 1617, says, "Like the Pythagoreans and Egyptians the
Rosicrucians exact vows of silence and secrecy. Ignorant men have treated the whole as a
fiction; but this has arisen from the five years' probation to which they
subject even well qualified Novices before they are admitted to the higher
Mysteries; within this period they are to learn how to govern their tongues."
Maier published in the same year as this the "de Vita Morte et Resurectione" of
his friend Robert Fludd.

There
existed at the Hague in 1622 a Rosicrucian Society with branches in Amsterdam,
Nuremberg, Hamburg, Danzig, Mantua, Venice, and Erfurt.
"The Brothers wore a black silk cord in the top button hole; a MS. of
last century says that this cord was given to them after they had promised,
under oath, to be strangled with such a cord rather than break the silence
imposed upon them. Their other sign
is, that when they go into company they all wear a blue ribbon, to which is
attached a golden cross with a rose on it, and this they are given on being
received into the Society. This they
wear round their necks under their coats, so that not much of it is visible; the
golden cross hangs down on the left side.
The third sign is that on the top of the head they have a shaven place,
about the size of a louis d'or, as you may see on myself; hence most of them
wear a wig in order not to be recognised; they are moreover very devout and live
very quietly. The fourth sign is
that on all high festivals, very early at sunrise, they leave their residence by
the same door ("i.e.," the East), and wave a small green flag.
When another of them appears at a place where one lives, he goes to this same
place, and there they enter into conversation, in order to recognise one
another; for at the beginning they do not trust one another.
Thus they have a certain "Greeting," among themselves, which is as follows. The Stranger says to the man he is
visiting, {213} 'Ave frater'! to which the other answers, 'Rosae et Aureae'! Then the first says, 'Crucis'! They then, both together, say 'Benedictus
Deus Dominus Noster, qui Nobis dedit signum.'
Then they have a large document to which the Imperator has affixed the
secret seal." The M.S. from which
this is taken is a part of the documents in possession of Mr. Karl "Kisewetter,"
who is a grandson of the last Imperator and who says that the seal which the
last Imperator used in office between 1764-1802 is of brass about the size of a
mark. It consisted of a shield
within a circle, on which was a cross, at the base of which was a conventional
rose with five petals; at the top, bottom, and sides was the letter "C"
signifying, Crux Christi Corona Christianorum (the cross of Christ is the
Christian's Crown).<<"The Sphynx," Leipzig.>>

The
English leader of the Rosicrucians was Dr. Robert Fludd, a deep student of the
Cabala, Astrology, Alchemy, and Magic.
He published at Leyden, in 1616, his Rosicrucian "Apologia," after a visit that
Maier paid to England. In 1629
appeared his "Summum Bonum," and "Sophia Cum Moria Certamen," in which, in
answer to Father Mersenne as to where the Rosicrucians resided, he replies, --
"In the house of God, where Christ is the Corner stone," a spiritual work, in
which men are the "living stones." He
speaks in 1633 "of the formerly so-called Rosicrucians who are now known as
Sapientes, Sophoi, or Wise men," and impresses on the reader that it is "under
the type of an Architect they erect their House of Wisdom." There was a Mr. Flood who presented a
copy of the Masonic MS. Charges to the Masons' Company of London, and as Robert
Fludd died 8th September, 1637, and resided for a long time near Masons' Hall he
was probably a Mason<<Vide "Ars Quat. Cor.," viii, p. 40-43.>>
Maier (as quoted in Initiation) says that numerous societies of Rosicrucians had
arisen by the various interpretations placed upon their ancient symbols, and
that the Society consisted of an outer and inner circle to which last the most
{214} esoteric part was confined, and there is much which would cause us to
think that Fludd's Society of the name was the Masonic Masters' Fraternity,
known as the Harodim, and all Continental tradition of the High-grades, or
Masters' grades, support this.

Dr.
John Dee, John Booker, William Lilly, and Father Backhouse are well known
Occultists, but as Masons we are more interested in two men who were not only
given to those pursuits, but were also well known Masons, Sir Robert Moray, who
was made a Mason at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1641; and Elias Ashmole, who was made
at Warrington in 1646. It is
conjectured that Thomas Vaughan, the author of many Rosicrucian works under the
assumed name of Eugenius Philalethes, may have been accepted in 1641, or
thereabouts; he was a friend of Ashmole, and the language of some parts of his
works corresponds with our Ritual; Moray also patronised him.

Elias
Ashmole in his Diary makes several mentions of the "Feasts of the Mathematicians
and Astrologers," and under 1653 says that Father Backhouse, when at the point
of death, "instructed him in syllables of the matter of the Philosopher's
Stone." In "Theatrum Chemicum
Britannicum," 1652, he gives from the "Breviary of Philosophy," the Oath of the
Alchemists, which Society he says was divided into Sons, and Fathers:

"Will you with me to-morrow be content,

Faithfully to receive the Blessed Sacrament,

Upon the Oath that I ball heere you give,

For ne gold, ne silver, so long as you live;

Neither for love you beare towards your kinne,

Nor yet to no great man, preferment to wynne,

That you disclose the seacret I shall you teach,

Neither by writing, nor by swift speech,

But only to him, which you be sure,

Hath ever searched after the seacrets of nature,

To him you may reveal the seacrets of this art,

Under the cover of Philosophie, before the world you depart."

The
symbolic tracing of the Rosicrucians was a Square {215} Temple approached by
seven steps, of which the four first represented the four elements, and the
remaining three salt, sulphur, and mercury, the three great principles; here
also we find the two Pillars of Hermes, the five-pointed star, sun and moon,
compasses, square, and triangle.

ILLUMINATI. This Society was founded 1st May, 1776,
by Professor Weishaupt, of Ingoldstadt with the object of arriving at political
power, and revolutionise religion and governments. It is only related to other Societies in
so far as this that Weishaupt, Knigge, and Bode drew upon ancient mysticism for
their Ritual, and induced their own members to spread themselves into the
Masonic Lodges to influence the Society.
Its grades were: -- 1st Degree Novice; 2nd Degree, Minerval; 3rd Degree, Minor Illuminee;
4th Degree, Major Illuminee; 5th Degree, Directing Illuminee -- Scottish Knight;
6th Degree, Epopt, or Priest. These
were entitled the Lesser Mysteries, and had their "Insinuators," and
"Scrutators," whose duties were to collect information from the members. 7th Degree, Regent; 8th Degree, Mage, or
Philosopher; 9th Degree, King Man.
These were the Greater Mysteries.
The order used the Persian era of 620 A.D.
Each Initiate had a characteristic name assigned, usually taken from classical
literature; and very much of their Ritual appears in the Abbe Barruel's "Memoirs
of Jacobinism." Some of their
Chapters studied Alchemy, and the Masonic Lodges equally dabbled in this Art,
but we shall allude to it in our Chapter on the High Grades.

Innumerable Societies of Mystics exist in America, but we have no space even for
their names, and must therefore refer the reader to Vol. II. of "The
Rosicrucian," 1908, by S. C. Gould, Manchester, N.H., U.S.A., under the head of
"Arcane Societies."

SOCIETIES OF CHINA. There exists
amongst the Chinese certain Secret Societies which profess, in some measure, to
continue a system of Brotherhood derived from ancient customs, and which may
have arisen out of their ancient Guild life.
The members are sworn to support {216} each other; to be of good morals, and
they have secret signs of recognition.
The Initiation is couched in Symbolic Mystery and divided into degrees; its aim
corresponds with other Societies of which we have already given particulars.

"The
Thian-ti-Hwii," or Heaven-earth-league is ancient, and said to be traceable in
1674. The Candidate before reception
has to answer 333 questions.

"The
Triad Society." The Candidate,
scantily clothed, is introduced into a darkened room, between two members, who
lead him to the President, before whom he kneels.
A knife is placed in his right hand, and a living cock in his left. In this position he takes a very lengthy
oath to aid his brethren even at the risk of his life; he is then directed to
cut off the head of the cock; the blood being collected in a bowl, by a slight
puncture it is mingled with his own blood, and that of the three chiefs who
officiate at the ceremony. He is
then warned that death will be his own fate if he should betray the Order. After this he is intrusted with the signs
and tokens of recognition, which run in threes; as, to take up anything with
three fingers. Generally speaking
these Societies aim to continue an ancient Symbolical System, but have added
political aims, and are therefore discouraged.

Scattered over the world are numerous societies which are believed to continue
the Mysteries of the Ancients, but we need not burthen our pages further with
them. Heckethorne's "Secret Societies of all
Ages and Countries" may be consulted; and the subject will be partially referred
to in our later chapters.

"Conclusion." In closing this
chapter we may point out that there was an undoubted connection between the
Hermetic Societies and Freemasonry, apart from the similarity of the symbols
employed by both. Basil Valentine is
quoted as saying that a man cannot be called an Adept unless he can build his
own reverberatory furnaces, in which is required the skill of a Mason and {217}
an expert geometrician.<<"Briscoe's Constitution," 1715.>>
Thomas Norton, 1477, states that Masons were students of the Hermetic art;
Paracelsus terms himself a Grand Master of Mechanical Secrets; "The Wise Man's
Crown," of 1664, equally asserts that the Masons were students of the Secret
Sciences, but we shall have to allude to these again.

On the
whole it would rather seem that Masons who desired to extend their learning
sought Hermetic Initiations, but at a later period these latter made use of the
Guild system of the former, as a convenient basis for their own views, and
wants. But the main issue of this
chapter is that whilst Masonry is a synonym of the Art branch of the Mysteries,
the Arcane, Mystic, and Hermetic Schools transmitted the rites and doctrines of
the Greater Mysteries though shorn of old splendour, until such times as
Freemasonry reunited the two divisions, in what was technically termed Ancient
Masonry though itself of modern organisation.

{218}

ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF

FREE MASONRY

CHAPTER VII.

RECAPITULATED PROOFS OF ANCIENT MASONRY.

THE information embodied in the foregoing pages might have
been extended to a great length; and in giving so condensed an account the
tastes of the general reader have been consulted. Some recapitulation of the salient points
may be advisable as a short preparation for the chapters upon Masonry which
follow; by way of laying the foundation for the introduction of the Association
of Geometry, Craft and Art, or what is now called Freemasonry, into England.

Though
Free Masonry, using this term to indicate a Brotherhood embracing religion,
morality, symbols, and art, has passed under various names according to the
language of the country in which it has existed, yet the most casual reader must
have observed that the various Schools which we have described, as derived from
a primitive system, had all the same essential Rites, and are in agreement with
the Masonic System. The mere fact of
the use of an organised system of esoteric Marks in architecture, in all time
and in all countries, is itself proof of equal continuance of degrees, and
ceremonial rites, in affinity with them; but we are not solely dependent upon
this, and though the proofs of a continuation of a secret Society is naturally
less prominent than in the case of a Church or a Sect, they are strong enough to
remove all reasonable doubt on the subject. {219}

The
evidence which we have already adduced goes to shew that the first Great
Mysteries were, at the very least, a union of the traditions of religion and
art. The various phenomena of life, the
revolutions of the heavenly bodies, their effect on vegetable and animal life
were carefully studied; astronomy and all those arts which are so largely
indebted to mathematics and geometry, were combined with Theosophia in the
ancient Mysteries; and all the facts of physical science and art were embraced
in their instruction.

A
widespread Ugro-Finnic, or proto-Aryan, civilisation preceded the Aryan and
Semitic developments, and it is even amongst the earliest of these people that
we can trace a system which combined tuition in religion and science and which
corresponds in its essential features with Freemasonry. The Mongolian races of Thibet and China
afford us proof of this, equally with the "Masters of Secrets," who left us
above 8,000 years ago the ruins of Erech, Serpal, Eridu, and Babel on the plains
of Shinar.

"China." The primitive Indian
Manu, whose era is so remote that no date can be assigned, speaks of a written
character composed of geometrical Symbols. We find in China amongst a people who
spread from Thibet at a remote period, and were contemporary with primitive
Babylon, a system of operative and speculative Masonry of which the Kings, as
was the case upon the plains of Shinar, were the Grand Masters. One of the oldest words in the Chinese
language is literally "square and compasses;" and the "Skirret" is an
hieroglyphic; the altar was a "cube." "Aprons" with "emblems" of office were
worn; and one of the most ancient books contains the "square" and "plumb" as
jewels of office, which had to be returned on the death of a Monarch-ruler,
whose emblem was the "hammer." The
Diety was designated "First Builder," and the Magistrates Level men. At a later period, but still 3,000 years
ago, the then Emperor has the "circle" and "rule" as his attributes, as the
Egyptian Osiris had the "Cubit." Coupled with this we have the doctrine of
Universal {220} Brotherhood, and the use of North-east, and South-west to
indicate the beginning and end of any object in view. Confucius, Mencius, and other
philosophers, equally apply the use of Masonic tools in their writings. In every sense of the word this system is
Freemasonry without its name, and traditional Jewish legend. Sir John Mandeville, in 1356, mentions a
coincidence with the Societies of the Essenes, Pythagoreans, and Ancient Masons.
He says that the Khan of all Tartary before the eruption into China, decreed
that all men should be governed by Masters of tens, hundreds, and thousands.
Moorcraft<<Quoted by Dr. Kenealy.>> says that when he entered Thibet he
was met by an officer of the Government named the "Nerba" and "on the back of
his habit, and on the right shoulder were sewn the saw, adze, chisel, rule, and
all the insignia of Freemasonry in Iron, the Symbols of a fraternity of which he
said he was a member." Japan 2,500 years ago had the Chinese
Guilds introduced by way of Korea.

"Egypt." The most ancient
Memphis of Egypt has traces of this system; in the use according to Diodorus of
tools in the hieratic writing; in the use of the cubit-rule as an emblem of
truth; in the building symbolism of the "Ritual of the Dead," a book so old that
4,500 years ago, it could not be understood without a commentary added to an
older commentary, that had become unintelligible.
The architect at this period, and 6,000 years ago, was a "Royal Companion," and
some of them mated with Princesses.
The Very Rev. C. W. Barnett, Dean of Capetown, says in a recent address, that he
had himself seen, on buildings 3,000 years old, the square, triangle, circle,
sun, moon, pentacle, and that the evidences of Masonry are found at Thebes
Luxor, Philae, Abu Simbel, Osioot, Dendera, Carnac, and on other noted archaic
ruins, as well as in the pitch dark recesses of the great pyramid; and that the
Sphynx holds in its colossal paws an exquisite small temple, which has Masons'
marks indented into the solid walls, roof, and monolithic columns. {221}

"Babylon." Ancient Babylon was allied in blood and
religion with the two races that we have just mentioned. What we have not yet to record in Symbols
we find represented in their language.
The earliest Monarchs were termed Pat-te-shi, which is interpreted literally to
strike or anoint the foundation stone, and with the addition of tsi-ri is
translated Sublime Master. Again the
seven Cabiric gods, or eight with one slain by his brother-gods, are named
Patecei, from Patasso, a hammer, and though we need not go to Asgard, which is
believed to be near the Caspian, the God Thor has the hammer for his weapon and
the Svastica {Symbol: Swastika} for his emblem.
There is similar proof that the first Kings and Viceroys were Masters of
the builders, and probably the designers, or at least superintended the
erection; and such edifices were consecrated with the Rites of Modern Masonry.
The Kings are represented with a Maltese Cross worn from the neck.
We seem to lose the Akkadian Symbols of the Mason in the conquests of the
Tent-dwelling Semites. The highest
chamber of the tower of Borsippa or Babel was a perfect cube. Brother G. W. Speth, the late eminent
Secretary of Lodge 2076, has pointed out some interesting bearings which Cabiric
emblems have upon modern Freemasonry.
We have shewn that the most ancient style of building was termed
Cyclopean, of which the Cabiric Initiates were the Masters, and that it is a
prehistoric style existing in all countries, running in later times into level
work and often cruciform in its plan.
The Cabiri recognised seven ancient gods, of which three were Chiefs, and
an eighth was slain by the others.
In Masonry whilst three rule a lodge, seven make it perfect, and the
eighth, or Initiated Candidate, is represented by the slain god. There is also the common symbolism of a
cube with 8 corners, which the Greek Cabiri termed Eshmon, and the Phoenicians
applied to Ouranos, or heaven, and as Esh is eight it equally represents the
Ashlar.<<"Ars Quat. Cor.," v, pt. 2.>> These Cabiri laid claim to be the
inventors of {222} all the arts of life, including the smelting of metals, and
were termed Technites or Artificers. Aeschylus introduces Prometheus as a
Cabiric god, inasmuch as amongst the arts that he taught mankind are the
erection of houses of brick, the construction of ships, the invention of
letters, and the art of digging gold and silver from the prolific earth, and of
fabricating instruments for ornament and use; he is the Tubal-Cain of the
Semites, and Greek Mythology condemns him to a cruel punishment on Caucasus, for
stealing the fire of heaven to aid mankind.

"Greece." Primitive Greece
was allied in its culte with the races already mentioned; and its early gods
were those of the Cabiri, and their buildings Cyclopean; early Greek culture is
found in tombs and palaces 3,000 B.C. excavated by Dr. Schliemann, and the
contents of these tombs appear to ally the occupants with the Scythians. A long period of barbarous wars
succeeded, attendant upon the invasion of the country by the Hellenes, an Aryan
or Celto-Iranian people, spreading general devastation. In Hellenic Mythology it is figured to us
in wars with a race of giants, Titans whom Jupiter at length conquered and
condemned to servile employment in the forges of Vulcan. Reduced to plain matter of fact, it is
the war between the Aryan invaders, who invented the mythology, and the
primitive inhabitants who worshipped the Cabiric gods, and were reduced to
artistic labour for their conquerors.
By this invasion the Cabiric Mythology became Hellenised; in one direction the
conquerors Aryanised the old myths that had grown up in the country, and in
another direction they appear to have Grecianised the legends of Egypt and
Phoenicia.<<Vide "Origin of the Aryans," Isaac Taylor, M.A., LL.D.>>

For
some centuries Greece sank into semi-barbarous desolation; its true civilisation
was that of Egypt, whence culture passed through the Romans to Europe. Egyptian colonists with their religious
mysteries settled at Argolis, the ancient seat of those Cyclops or Cabiri who
built the enormous walls of Tyrenes, and Mycenae, at a period too {223} remote
to be defined; their chief Inachas it is said lived 1976 B.C., and was succeeded
by his son Phoroneus, whilst the deluge of Ogyges, in Boetia, occurred 1796
B.C., but it is probable that little reliance can be placed on these dates.
To the new race is attributed the destruction of the older Cyclopean towns.
At dates from three to four centuries later there entered Greece fresh
colonies of Egyptians and Phoenicians: Cecrops arrived in Attica from Sais, in
Egypt, 1687 B.C.; assembled the well-disposed inhabitants, laid the foundation
of Athens, and of that peculiar tribunal termed the Areopagus. Cadmus settled with his colonies in
Boetia 1594 B.C., and founded Thebes; he brought with him into Greece the
Phoenician alphabet, which, originating in Egypt, forms the basis of our own
alphabet. Danaus settled a new
colony in Argolis 1586 B.C., which had previously been settled by Egyptians, and
to this year is also credited the deluge of Deucalion.

"India
and Media." Primitive India and
Proto-Media shared the same fate as ancient Greece; Aryans equally invaded these
countries and reduced the ancient inhabitants. Egypt also received Colonies of the same
race, and the great pyramid is constructed upon the Mystic design of the temple
of the realms of Osiris. The Aryan
invaders of India established bounds beyond which the artizan, as a third caste,
was not allowed to proceed.
Accordingly this third class, which was largely the prehistoric inhabitants of
the country, continued Rites of their own, in which as we have seen, they used
art Symbols and measurements to typify the truths of a religion, which differed
only from that of the Brahmins and Maharajahs in the use of art instead of
nature Symbols. The priests of
Benares say that this Fraternity constructed all the marvellous works that are
spread over the land. As in China,
it was a Society of the Level and Plumb.

"Persia." The ancient
Persians say that their ruler Jemschid erected the Artizans into a class, though
the country never accepted strict caste laws. This ideal king {224} gave them laws
which he superintended, and allowed them to appoint a Chief or Grand Master to
oversee them. Hence in strictly
Aryan countries, governed by firm caste laws, we have a triple set of Mysteries,
those of the Brahmins, or Priests, with an intangible Diety; in the warrior
Caste such Mysteries as those of Mythras, Bacchus and Serapis; and amongst the
Artizans the Art, or Cabiric gods.

When an
apprentice has completed his time he applies to his Guild for his Freedom and
makes the customary payment. A
priest is called in and after prayers he receives the "acolade" from the Master
of the Guild. The Rev. P. J. Oliver Minos says that he has traced 20
Masonic Landmarks to Hindu Rites; and that in Persian Mazan is a Sorcerer, -- a
Scientist, and that "Free" may be the Sanscrit "Pri" to love as brethren, as
distinct from slaves, the root "vri" or "var" to choose.
Mazandun is land of sorcerers, scientists.

As the
caste system extended itself in India to different trades, a Guild system arose,
such as we had in old times in England.
In India at this day, each caste forms such a Guild, embracing the whole of that
class, exercising an influence for the general advantage. Some of these lay claim to the "twice
born thread" of the Brahmins. The
deserving members are rewarded by titles and offices, the undeserving are
punished by fines, or condemned to furnish a feast; the refractory suffer by
temporary or permanent caste deprivation.

"Aryan
Greece." The origin of Classical
Greek is Aryan, and was first introduced into Thessaly by the followers of the
Mythical Deucalion, in three great tribes designated Hellenes. The Dorians are said to take their name
from Doris, son of Helen; the Aeolians from another son Aeolus; and Ionians from
a grandson Ion. It is noteworthy
that it is after the recivilisation of Greece and the introduction of the
Egyptian Mysteries that the method of building edifices of squared and level
blocks in contradistinction to the polygonal and irregular style {225} of the
Cyclops, arises in that country; hence it would appear that either the Dionysian
artificers must have superseded the Cabiri or instructed them. There are traces in India, Greece,
Palestine, and other countries, of a gradual improvement, as exemplified by the
use of both styles in the same building, and there can scarcely be a doubt that
the improvement came from the Aryan race.
Ancient Greek writers identify the Pelasgi with the older style and attribute it
to Assyrian introduction. The
Etrurians were of the Pelasgic race, and their buildings are of the Cyclopean
style, and from them we derive the Tuscan style of column; Varro mentions a
tradition that they conquered North Italy 1044 B.C.
To the Aryan Greeks the solidity of Cyclopean Masonry, which went beyond their
early Kings Inachides and the Oenostratus, could only be the work of giants, and
similar views were held in other countries.
It is from the tribes of Dorians and Ionians that we derive the Doric and
Ionic styles, after follow the Corinthian and the Composite, as the developments
of the three original Greek styles, with the Tuscan. But Isocrates justly says that the Greeks
borrowed their ideas, and the forms of their temples, from the Egyptians. It is known that the Phoenicians often
employed Egyptian architects; and it was from the former that Solomon obtained
his chief workmen for the erection of the temple of Jerusalem, and the style had
points in common with that of Etruria, from which Rome derived much of its art.

"The
Dionysiacs." There are three
questions to be considered in reference to the application of the name Dionysius
to the slain and resurrected sun-god of Greece. In the first place, Herodotus positively
asserts that these Mysteries were derived from Egypt, it is certainly not the
Cabiric version. But Assyria had its
God Dionisu, and the Aryan Greeks in some cases Hellenised the older Mythology.
It therefore seems to be pretty evident that the Hierophants, who first
organised the system, found it politic and expedient to use the Assyrian name in
place of the {226} Egyptian. It is
somewhat doubtful whether the Great Mysteries of Dionysos were practical Masons,
as well as teachers of secret truths of a spiritual nature. The usually accepted statement is that
the builders were Initiates into the Mysteries of Dionysos; but as these
Mysteries, according to the savant Heeren, were allied with those of the warrior
class of Persia and India, it is possible that there was a separate class of
builders, as in India, under the designation of "Dionysian Artificers," for
though neither Egypt nor Greece were caste ridden, and the latter left the Aryan
home before caste laws were promulgated, yet both in Egypt and Greece there was
a custom of hereditary transmission of Art, as honourable in itself.

The
probability of the evidence is that the Dionysiacs were an operative body who
had their Initiated Masters or Chiefs appointed by the Hierophants of the
Mysteries, and who taught them and superintended their labours; and that they
developed in Greece the method of building with flat, squared blocks. As the priests of the Mysteries in early
times had the superintendence of the erection of their temples, they may have
reserved the right of Initiating Masters; and the echo of this may be found in
the old MSS., which caused King Athelstan to grant a Master's Charter in
Witenagemote, which new body then proceeded to add "points" for the governance
of subordinate workmen.

We read
that in the year 1263 B.C. the Council of Amphictyons built the temple of
Apollo, a combination of Architects two centuries before the time of Solomon. These Dionysiacs existed in Greece above
3,000 years ago; hence Cabiric art fell into abeyance, and became a tradition.
On the Ionic emigration they carried their art into Asia, and the erection of
the Temple of Heracles at Tyre has been attributed to them, and which had two
Pillars, one of gold, the other of emerald.
They were divided into Lodges under Masters, had emblematical Jewels, degrees,
ceremonies, and tokens of recognition; {227} they also admitted amateurs as
Honorary members. They became a powerful body which
exercised much political influence, and were incorporated as a Society of
Architects by the Kings of Pergamos.
At one time they were termed Daedalidae, from Dedalus, the architect of Crete,
and the Labyrinth, respecting whom there is a myth which has some analogy to
Masonic legend; he is often represented with the square and compasses in his
hand, hence the Greeks fabled that he invented these working tools and that he
was father of architecture in general; and was banished for murdering a Fellow
out of jealousy. Lord Bacon, in his
"Wisdom of the Ancients," allegorises the legend as to Daedalus, coupled with
the death of his son Icarus by falling from a flying machine which his father
had invented; by the Labyrinth, he says, is typified Art in general. It is admitted that the Dionysiacs were
attached to the Osirian legend; and one of the walls of Thebes has a
representation of the Ark of Osiris, with a sprig of five branches, and the
legend "Osiris sprouts forth," being an analogue of the Jewish Ark, and the Rod
which budded. A symbolic ladder had
its place in the Greek Temples, and Aelian says that Pittacus of Mitylene
introduced a ladder into the temples of his country to imply "the rise and fall
in the vicissitudes of fortune, according to which the prosperous might be said
to climb upwards; the unfortunate to descend." This is but the exoteric explanation of
an esoteric spiritual Mystery. We
mentioned in our third chapter a Mosaic table of a Masonic character found at
Pompeii. There can be no doubt that
we have in the "Book of Chronicles" the Hebrew equivalents of the divisions of
labour in the great building operations of other nations, these cannot be a
Hebrew invention, but equally represent the organisations of Chaldea, Egypt, and
India. We read (1) of Ish Chotzeb,
or men who hew at the quarries; (2) Ghiblim, stone cutters or artists; (3) Ish
Sabbal, or men of burdens; (4) Bonai, the builders or setters; (5) Menatzchim,
the comforters or foremen; (6) Harodim, rulers or princes, who {228}
superintended the whole levy. It may
be noted that Gebal, where Solomon's Masons wrought, was a seat of the Adonisian
Mysteries, and that he was said to have been slain in Lebanon. Even the more ancient Job, according to
our modern translators, though said to be incorrect, may have had a knowledge of
Masons' Marks, for he says: "In the hands of all men he (God) putteth a Mark,
that every man may know His work."
Solomon's Temple was completed in the year 1004 B.C. and the old York
lectures taught that its erection occupied 7 years, 7 months and 7 days. Josephus, in his treatise against Apion
informs us on the testimony of Menander, that Hiram rebuilt the temple of
Melcart -- the City King, which, if Herodotus is correct in his data, must then
have existed for over seventeen centuries. Hiram then abandoned old Tyre and took up his
residence on the adjacent island, and encompassed the City square with high
walls of cut stone. Hence the temple
which Herodotus saw was that of Hiram then near six centuries old. The Talmud has a legend that Hiram was
granted 600 years of Paradise for reward, for the Cedars of Lebanon which he
supplied to the builders of the temple of Jerusalem, and the book "Yalkutt"
which is a compilation from the "Midrash," a word which means "to gather
together," says that Hiram built himself, in the midst of the sea, a paradise of
seven heavens (as was Babel), and that, for his great pride, Yod sent
Nebuchadnezzer against him who destroyed his Paradise and cut him to pieces when
he was about 600 years old.

"Roman
Collegia." In Rome the Arts were erected into
Colleges by charter of Numa Pompilius, 703 B.C.
The early architecture of Italy was Pelasgic, but Greece contributed much
to its advance, and their Colleges of Artizans have such a close resemblance to
the Dionysic system that the rule of one must have been the rule of the other.
In point of fact Latin historians assert distinctly that the founders of Numa's
Colleges were Greeks, which {229} would lead us to suppose that Dionysian
artificers were brought to reconstitute older schools.

Zosimus
informs us that Numa was created Pontifex Maximus, and all his successors, and
he derives the origin of the title, which may be translated
Bridge-Master-General, from Thessalian Greeks who, before statues and temples
began to be built by them, had images placed on a Bridge over the Peneus from
which the Sacrificers were termed Bridge-priests.
It is curious that the civil government had a similar constitution to the
Masonic Colleges. At the birth of
the republic there were 3 tribes -- Sabines, Albines, and Strangers. Each was divided into ten Curies, these
into Decuries, at the head of which were placed Curions, or Decurions, and above
these 100 Centurie. Gradually,
however, this gave way to an enlargement, the Umbrians were the most ancient
population and the Dacians, Thracians, and Italian Celts were Aryans, but not
closely related to the Hellenes of Greece.
It is believed that Numa was an Initiate of the Etruscan priests, and Salverte
holds that he was acquainted with electricity and used it in his rites. Herodian says that the Romans obtained
from the Phrygians a statue of the "Mother goddess," by representing that they
were of the same blood through the colonies of Aeneas, 1270 B.C., when Troy was
destroyed by the confederate Greeks.

The
Roman formula was that "three form a College," but when formed one might
continue it. According to the Laws
of the "Twelve Tables," the Collegia had the right to make their own laws, and
were also permitted to form alliances amongst themselves. They were divided into "Communities"; had
a common Arca or chest; elected their officers annually; accepted Honorary
members as "Patrons"; had priests, as there is mention of a "Priest of the
builders or artificers." They had emblems of office; signs of
recognition; many of the symbols used by Freemasons, as, says Schauberg, the
rough and perfect cube, and they could distinguish a {232} brother by day as
well as by night. Their Wardens
ruled ten men, a custom which Sir C. Wren says was in use amongst the old
Free-masons. The Communities or
"Maceriae" were held secretly and in secluded rooms; generally met monthly; each
member was bound by oath to assist another; some of the Registers of Members are
yet extant. Their officers were, a
Magister, who presided over a hundred men and was elected for five years;
Decurions or Wardens, each of whom presided over 10; Seniores or Elders; Scribe
or Secretaries; Sacerdotes or priests; Tabularii or archivists; Erratoris or
Messengers; Viatores or Serving brethren; Signiferi or Flagbearers.
One inscription informs us that the Collegium held a yearly feast in anniversary
of its foundation. Throughout the whole Roman Empire the
Collegia were in active operation, and the "Corpus Juris" mentions amongst the
Arts legally existing, and free from taxation, the architects, masons, stone
cutters, painters, sculptors, carpenters, and ship and machine builders.
We know the Collegia were established in Britain, as last century an inscription
was found in Chichester which says that the "Collegium Fabrorum" had erected a
temple to Neptune and Minerva and the safety of the family of Claudius Caesar,
"circa" 52 A.D. The great architect
Vitruvius defined the art of Masonry, 2,000 years ago, as "a science arising out
of many other sciences, and adorned with much and varied learning"; he also
shews us that the Romans had a canon of proportion, which being a secret goes
far to shew that he was an Initiated temple architect, and which canon is still
represented in our Masonic Lodges by a tessellated pavement.<<"Ars Quat Cor.,"
viii, p. 99.>> Aristophanes, in one
of his Comedies, introduces Meton, the astronomer, with rule and compasses in
his hands, preparing to lay out the plan of a new city. Upon the tombs of Roman members of these
Colleges are found emblems identical with those of modern Freemasonry, and we
find upon tessellated floors, and mural paintings, the {231} triangle, double
triangles, square and compasses, gavel, plumbrule, five-pointed star, the
branch. There has recently been dug
up at Rome, near the Triano, a glass bowl, upon which, on one side, is a square
and above that the blazing star or sun, and the letters J. N. Underneath the square are two pillars,
standing upon a Mosaic pavement.<<"Liberal Freemnson," 1888.>>

Mr.
Toulmain Smith points out that contemporary with the Roman Collegia were the
Greek "Eranoi," or "Thiasoi," numerous at Rhodes and Piraeus, and other parts.
Their organisations had even a closer resemblance to Freemasonry than the
Collegia.

Although the Celtic races of Britain had in early times many fine cities, and
though the York Lectures state that Ebrank, Bladud, and Croseus were eminent as
Masons, yet it is considered that the Latin term "Marus" indicates that we had
stone building from the Latins. This
Ebrank is Ebroc, the great founder of York; Bladud founded Bath, and brought
from Athens four philosophers whom he located at Stamford; he is said to have
been a great Mathematician, and having invented a flying machine fell from the
temple of Apollo on the site of St. Paul's, London, and was killed; Croseus will
be Carausieus, once Emperor of Britain, and Patron of the Collegia.

We
mentioned in our last chapter the Benedictine Monk Henry Bradshaw, of St.
Werberg Monastery, Chester, before 1513.
Speaking of that city he has the following lines: --

"The founder of this citie, as saith Polychronicon,

Was Leon Gaur, a myghte strong gyaunt,

Which builded caves and dongeons many a one,

No goodlie buildyng, ne proper, ne pleasant,

But King Leir a Britain fine and valiaunt,

Was founder of Chester by pleausant buildyng,

And was named Guar Leir by the King."

"Syria." It is not improbable
that a Masonic School {232} continued to exist in Palestine during the
centuries: the Macabees were considerable builders. Recent discoveries in Jerusalem shew that
stones of a remote, but uncertain, antiquity bear Masonic Marks, some of which
are cut in the stone and others painted thereon in red; some of these marks are
assumed to be Phoenician characters.

In the
Talmud, in "Sabbath," 114, it is said that "the wise-men are called builders
because they are always engaged in the upbuilding of the world."
The Essenes were called Bonaim or builders because it was their duty to edify or
build up the spiritual temple in the body.
Chief Rabbi Henry Adler says that the Jewish Sages followed all professions,
including Masoning, and that Shammai is, on one occasion, represented with the
cubit rule in his hand. The Sages
were termed Chaberim, associates, friends, brethren.
There is found represented the triangle, square, and circle, as constructive
rules, as, for instance, in the erection of the Succuth, or Booths, at the feast
of Tabernacles.<<"Vide Ars Quat. Cor.," 1898, Yarker.>> In the Book of Maccabees<<2nd ch. ii,
29-34.>> there is a very interesting paragraph which says: "For as the Master
Builder of a new house must care for the whole building; but he that undertaketh
to set it out and paint it, must seek out fit things for the adorning of it,
even so I think it is with us.
To stand upon every point, and go over things at large, and to be curious
in particulars, belongeth to the first authors of the story; but to use brevity,
and avoid much labouring of the work, is to be granted to him who will make an
abridgement." Now although such
passages as these, which are fairly common amongst Jewish and Christian writers,
may not prove that the authors were Masons, as the term is now understood, it
confirms the belief of those writers who assert that the Arcane Schools of
Christians did make use of building symbolism; and indicates moreover that the
art of building, or masoning, was one which the learned thought to be
symbolically useful, and how much more then by the {233} builders themselves, to
whom it would recommend itself so aptly.

There
exists to-day a Jewish Guild at Assuan in Egypt which claims great antiquity,
and practises Jewish Rites connected with the building of the two first temples,
and for that purpose meet annually at sunrise and labour till sunset. An Architect who is now out there, and
received initiation in Derbyshire, 1866-75, says that they practise the very
same ceremonies which he there received.
Of course in a Jewish Guild circumcision is necessary for reception.
The native Copts have similar Guilds, but their ground diagrams are designed for
the square pyramid and not for a 3 to I temple like that at Jerusalem, but they
assert that Solomon had his initiation from Pharaoh, to whom he paid a great
price. The triplicity of a pyramid is one of
their symbols, as it is equally in the ancient Guilds of this country and in the
modern Royal Arch degree of Freemasonry.
Of course in the building of the 1st temple Yah was the God of Jedediah;
Baal of the King of Tyre; and On (which is both Egyptian and Greek, if not also
Hindu) the god of Hiram the Abiv.
Plato has a line which says "Tell me of the God On, which was, is, and shall
be," it is therefore the equivalent of the tetragrammaton. Oliver quotes in the like sense, Rev. i.
4: GR:Omicron Omicron Omega Ka-alpha-iota Omicron eta nu, Kappa-alpha-iota
Omicron epsilon-rho-kappa-omicron-mu-xi-upsilon-omicron-sigma -- ("God (On) is,
and was, and is to come.")

We are
told that Herod, King of Judea, employed 10,000 Masons besides Labourers, in
rebuilding the temple of Zerrubabel; and it is quite certain that recollections
of the temple of Solomon had not died out.
It is even believed that, from the time of Alexander the Great, large numbers of
Jews emigrated into Spain and were the founders and builders of Toledo, Seville,
and Barcelona, besides other buildings in Bohemia; and the best time of their
race was during the Moorish rule, when Oriental and Secret Societies were
prevalent.

The
Journal "Israelite" of 1860 contained a paper in reference to the existence in
Spain of certain old legends {234} in proof that the Jews emigrated thither in
the days of the tyrannical Rheoboam and of Adoniram's journey thither to gather
taxes and was slain. The writer
says: "It is a fact that there are numerous tombstones with old Hebrew or
Samaritan inscriptions in Seville or Toledo -- we cannot positively say which of
these two places -- and among them is one which bears the name of Adoniram the
Collector of Solomon and his son Rheoboam. . . . The Jews were the founders and builders
of most of the ancient cities of Spain -- Toledo, Seville, Barcelona, and
others; and also that the Jews were the inhabitants of these places at the time
when the Ostragoths invaded the peninsula.
Al Tanai Synagogue is of great antiquity, neither Greek or Gothic. The most ancient chronicle of Bohemia
says that this building was found there when the founder of the city of Prague
laid the first corner stone of it."
There is an ancient Hebrew book, certainly 1,500 years old, entitled the
"Testament of Solomon," which gives a full account of the legions of daemons
employed by Solomon in the construction of the Temple, and the positions
assigned them, but it is more than probable that these Talmudic legends
originally referred to the 72 Suliemen of pre-human times, and were engrafted in
Babylon upon the personality of the Israelite King. Sir Charles Lemon informed his P.G. Lodge
in 1846, that when visiting Poland he saw an ancient Jewish Synagogue which was
built 600 years B.C., where he found Masonic emblems now used by the Fraternity.
(See "Freemason," 1814 page 176.)

The
"Mishna," or oldest portion of the Jewish "Talmud," preserves the measurements,
and details, of the first temple, with its utensils, and, very recently, a
representation of it was found in the Roman Catacombs.
According to Josephus, Clemens, and Eusebius, each and all its details, were
symbolical of the Universe.

The
third temple, or that of Herod, was destroyed in the year 70, and the Emperor
Hadrian erected in 136 a fourth temple upon its site which he dedicated to
Jupiter {235} Capitolinus, and compelled the Jews to pay taxes for its
maintenance. It is said in Hadrian's time that there
was a temple erected to Astarte which was destroyed at the instigation of
Helena, the mother of Constantine.
In the 4th century many churches were erected in Palestine, and the Emperor
Justinian built a great number in that country.

The Emperor Julian attempted to rebuild
on the site of Solomon's temple, and there is a very curious account, which
confirms in a remarkable manner the Rites of the Guild of Free Masons, namely --
that a Reed below the floor (about 10 feet) there was a vault which contained a
pedestal, with the plans, and the centre diagrams, and which is drawn upon to
form the Arch degree in modern Freemasonry, and that this centre had to be
discovered on the erection of the 2nd temple. An old writer relates that when the
Emperor's labourers were set to clear away the rubbish they came upon a vaulted
chamber into which one of the workmen was let down with a rope; he returned and
reported that in the centre was a square pedestal surrounded with water, and
produced a scroll which Nicephorus relates was a verse of the Bible. The Guilds say that this was and is the
first lines of Genesis, and that it was carved over the Eastern entrance of the
1st temple. Julian was obliged to
desist from his intentions as Nicephorus says that fire broke out which
destroyed his workmen. An older
writer Philostorgius circa 853 A.D. has the same account.

It may
be convenient to mention here the Holy-sepulchre at Jerusalem which led to the
introduction of round churches into England; though the temples of the Greeks
and Romans were often circular, as was that of Venus in Cyprus mentioned by
Homer; that of Vesta and the Parthenon.
The Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre was consecrated in 335. Its round part represents the Sepulchre
of Christ, and leading from it is a broad aisle, at the end of which is a
rectangular church on the site of Golgotha.
This was partially destroyed by {236} Chosroes, King of Persia, in 614, and
restored 14 years later by Bishop Heraclius, to fall in 636 into the hands of
the Islamite Caliph Omar. On the
death of Haroun al Raschid his three sons contended for the throne, and the
churches were burnt, but shortly after restored by Bishop Thomas.
In 1010 the Caliph Hakem destroyed them, but they were again rebuilt next
year. In 1048 the three churches
were reconstructed by Constantine Monomachus; the original rectangular church
would seem to have perished by the year 1102, and many changes were made in the
remaining portions<<"The Holy Sepulchre," Northampton, 1897. Wm. Mark.>>
During all the period of their occupation the Saracens erected numerous
buildings, and the building art was not extinguished down to the time of the
Crusaders, who added largely to the structures existing.

"Greco-Egyptian."
Although we do not know much about the remote organisation of the
building fraternities in Egypt, yet M. Maspero opened the tomb of an architect,
builder, and carver of inscriptions at Thebes, and with the mummy was found a
square, level, compasses, and other implements.
At Tel-el-Amarna, 1500 B.C., Bek the hereditary successor of a line of
Architects, terms himself the teacher of the King; and, as we have seen, the
symbols and representations, however ancient, are more Masonic than in any other
country. It is not, however, an
unreasonable supposition to suppose that from 500 B.C. when the Persians had
conquered the country, to be succeeded by the Greeks and Romans, gradual changes
took place, under this foreign influence, in the more ancient Corporations of
Masons.

The
Roman Collegia may have modified Guild life of the more ancient native
fraternity, and it is this explanation which must be placed upon the English
tradition of the "Charges of Euclid."
Draper mentions the conquests of Alexander the Great as leading to the
establishment of "the mathematical and practical Schools of Alexandria, the true
origin of science." When the
"Needle" {237} which Cleopatra had re-erected 22 B.C. came to be removed in
1880, there was found at the base a peculiar arrangement of stones, which was
held to symbolise a Masonic Lodge as now known; thus a portion was laid so as to
form a square, on which rested a rough Ashlar, and a perfect Cube, also an
oblong of the purest limestone carefully polished and without spot or flaw.

We have expressed a decided opinion that
the origin of Free Masonry is to be found in the primitive system of a secret
School which developed a Mystery in which natural religion was taught in union
with science and art, and that, before the divorce of the two, the great State
Mysteries organised a better style of building with squared blocks, in other
words the Osirian, Dionysian, or Bacchic Mysteries, which were a highly
spiritualised faith, still more subtilised and spread by Greek philosophers as
the Mysteries of Serapis, a Gnostic pre-Christian system, which used the cross,
and had all the characteristics essential for the faith "before Christ came in
the flesh." It is idle to suppose
that the Ceremonial Rites of Masons were then absolutely uniform; those of a
Cabiric or Pelasgian civilisation could not be entirely uniform with those of
the Aryanised Dionysiacs, yet such ceremonial rites existed beyond doubt, and
each had their slain-god if the mode of his death was not quite uniform, and
Initiates only had acted a part in the ceremony, nor need we have any doubt of
the possibility of the transmission of such Rites, from the earliest period,
though we cannot produce yearly minutes for it.
What right have we to expect this?
It means the violation of solemn oaths, perhaps death. Take the universality of laying a
foundation stone, and we see that the modern ceremony was exactly paralleled in
ancient Babylon and Egypt. Even Job
must have known something of it in his desert home, for he says: "Where was't
thou when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Who laid the corner stone thereof: when the morning stars sang together
and all the Sons of God shouted for joy."
If a Rite which professed to date {238} from Solomon's temple existed in
early times, as it probably did, it would be amongst a small number of Jewish
Masons, and a modification of the Phoenician Cabiric Mysteries, but we can leave
this for the present.

The
Legend of the Origin of English Masonry which has been handed down to us from
the times of Edwin and Athelstan repeats a tradition which traces the Society to
Egypt, and particularises its derivation and organisation. It is clearly a legend which existed at
the time, and there is no probable basis which would justify us in expressing a
doubt that, as a legend, it had actual existence in Athelstan's time, nor in
going beyond it to invent a theory that the forerunners of the Society were at
the building of Solomon's temple, an assertion which is not there, and never
intended to be there; and the absence of which is a good proof of the antiquity
of the account related.

The
Legend to which we refer may be inaccurate in some of its details; the name of
Euclid, the eminent Geometrician, may have been inserted for Thoth or Hermes as
the Greeks termed the god of art; and we may be sure, that in the centuries
through which the legend had passed, before it reached the form of our oldest
MSS., it would be modified in minor particulars; but we may be well persuaded
that it contains a basis of truth, as it would be a likely Legend to be handed
down by Romans and Romanised Britons who worked by Euclid's traditions, and
onward through Culdee monks who taught the rules of handicraft to the people at
York, and other places, practised the teaching of the Mysteries of Serapis in
the Arcane Discipline of the Church, and even superintended, built, and laboured
with their own hands at the erection of their churches and monasteries.

This
tradition alleges that Egypt finding her people to be generating a too numerous
population of well-born youths, for whom it was difficult to find suitable
employment, sought anxiously for a remedy.
A proclamation was made, and Euclid an Initiate of Serapis, of the
Platonic Academy, and it may even be of the Colleges {239} of Builders,
undertook to provide a remedy. For
this purpose he accepted these Lords' sons, and taught them Geometry "as the
most honest art of all," and when they were capable proceeded to organise them
into a Brotherhood, and give them a "Charge," which examination will shew to
agree in all essential points with the Roman Collegia. There may be something in the alleged
Grand Mastership of Euclid, who is said in Anderson's "Constitutions" of Masonry
to have acted as the architect of some noble edifices in Egypt, but it is more
probable that he owes the rank assigned to him from his eminence as a
Geometrician, about 276 B.C., and it is noteworthy that in the old Masonic MSS.
it is not claimed for Masonry that it was exclusively a society of Sculptors and
Stone-cutters but embraced all arts that work by the rules of Geometry.
There is good reason to accept judiciously this alleged Alexandrian descent of
Masonry into England. We are told that the original builders of
St. Mark's at Venice were Alexandrian refugees, and, it may be, the style of the
palace of the Doge, which is called Moorish but is not so. The Byzantine style was probably
Alexandrian, and when the Saracens took Egypt the Artists were dispersed over
Persia, Greece, and Europe.

In the
light of what has preceded, the traditional legend resolves itself broadly into
this: that besides the great State Mysteries, but derived from them, there were
minor schools of Philosophers, and Colleges of the Arts and Sciences, all with
special, but similar, ceremonies of their own, and that Euclid held a prominent
position in all these. Further that
the Masonic association was of Greco-Roman introduction into England, a
genealogy which attaches itself to the divine Father, Mother, and Son of old
Egypt.

Nor was
Art itself in Egypt confined, in its practice to mere Artisans, for there were
sacred images which could only be wrought by the priests of the Mysteries. Synesius, Bishop of Ptolemais, has a
peculiar passage ("Calvit."), in which he writes: "The prophets or hierophants,
{240} who had been Initiated into the Mysteries, did not permit the common
workmen to form idols or images of the gods, but they descended themselves into
the sacred caves, where they have concealed coffers, containing certain spheres,
upon which they construct their image secretly, and without the knowledge of the
people, who despise simple and natural things, and wish for prodigies and
fables." We see from-this that there
was a Craft secret and symbolism known only to the priests, and that like the
"Four crowned Martyrs," of Christian Masonry, they were capable of practical
sculpture. The "sacred caves" were the Crypts of
their temples; and the word translated "sphere" is indefinite, for there are yet
drawings to be found in Egypt which shew that the "Canon of proportion" was a
chequered tracing even from the time of the very ancient 5th dynasty.
The primitive canon divided the human figure into 19 squares, of which the head
occupied 3 squares, the pubis began at 9 1/2, and the knee-joint at 6th square
from the bottom one. A seated figure
occupied 15 squares; but the proportions varied in the course of ages.<<"Ars
Quat. Cor." (W. H. Rylands). vi.>>
The learned Dr. Stukeley was of opinion that the Isaic Tablet of Cardinal
Bembo<<Pub. by Dr. W. W. Westcott.>> was a tracing-board of the Egyptian
Mysteries, a temple spread out in plane, and that it could be divided into
Porch, Sanctum, and Sanctorum.

In the
time of Euclid one of the most beautiful buildings in all Egypt was in progress
and dedicated to the divine Triad, namely, the re-erection, on its ancient site,
of the temple of Philae, which was begun about 300 B.C. and continued for two
centuries. Mr. James Ferguson thus
eulogises it: "No Gothic architect, in his wildest moments, ever played so
freely with his lines and dimensions, and none, it must be added, ever produced
anything so beautifully picturesque as this.
It combines all the variety of Gothic art, with the massiveness and
grandeur of the Egyptian style." In
it are nine sculptured tablets {241} on the wall which pourtray the death,
resurrection, ascension, and deification of the god to whose honour it was
erected. The most sacred oath a Copt
could swear was, "By Him that sleeps at Philae, and by Him that sitteth upon the
throne." The Mysteries of the god
continued to be celebrated in this temple until about 450 A.D., after which it
was probably used for Christian worship.<<"Egypt," Wm. Oxley.>>

Another
building of great extent was erected by Ptolemy Philadelphus as a temple of
Serapis, the Greco-Egyptian triad in an Eclectic form.
It was the most magnificent temple then in existence, and had numerous
subterraneous passages and caverns, artificially constructed for the Rites of
the Mysteries. It contained a
library said to consist of all known books in 700,000 volumes; a library
destroyed by the Moslems in 638 A.D.
It was partially destroyed previously by the Christians when emblems of a
cruciform character were exposed.
The steady advance of Christianity, developing into a ferocious intolerance,
necessitated even greater secrecy in the celebration of the Mysteries, followed
by persecutions of the Initiates by the later Emperors, made it essential to
reorganise them under other names, with the assumption of a humble disguise. It is in this way that we renew our
acquaintance with them in the Colleges of Art, and in the Gnostic and Occult
fraternities.

So far
as this country is concerned we know nothing from documents of a Masonry dating
from Solomon's temple until after the Crusades, when the Constitution believed
to have been sanctioned by King Athelstan gradually underwent a change. To advance an opinion amongst well read
people, that all Craft Masonry must necessarily date from Solomon's temple, can
only raise a smile. The building was
erected by Phoenicians and partly of wood, and its magnificence is no doubt
greatly exaggerated in the Talmud; and the Jews, with a special God for their
own race, were unpopular with all other nations; and far more extensive and
magnificent buildings, {242} of which the ruins exist to this day, are found in
Egypt, India, and the Americas. It
is, however, a curious thing, in regard to Solomonian legends, that there seems
to have existed amongst the oldest proto-Aryan races, we have knowledge of, a
dynasty of Solymi, or Sulieman, entitled Kings; and it has also been discovered
amongst the ruins of Babylon as the name of a God of these ancient people,
whilst the real name of King Solomon was Jedediah, or the beloved of Jah. It is therefore possible that the title
may have been prehistorically known in some Cabiric Rites, and that Ouranos, Ur,
Urim, has been corrupted to Hurim, or Hiram Abif, and perpetuated from the
building of the 2nd Temple; for we may assume that the graphic form of the
legend has been the gradual growth of centuries, though perpetuated as a drama
in the Mediaeval Guilds, and when the Talmud and the Koran tells us that Solomon
employed troops of daemons to erect the temple we may feel sure that the Talmud
is drawing upon the pre-human Suliemen, or Kings of the Jins or Afreets.

There
can be no doubt that the early Christian Monks found amongst their skilled
Masons certain forms of reception, or Mysteries, similar to, if not identical,
with those which had descended to themselves as heirs of the Epoptia of these
Mysteries. It suited some of these
Monks to transform the Serapian Sun-god into Jesus, in obedience to the
prevailing policy of the church; whilst it pleased others, whether Jews,
Christians, or Moslems, matters little, to substitute Hiram; these Rites would
also vary in different countries, and at different eras; hence sects of Masons
arose, and, as we shall see later, have come down to our own days.

When we
first began to examine the ancient MSS. of the Masonic Craft, of which the
result will be found in these pages, we scarcely expected to find more than
chance coincidence between Masonry and the Arcane Colleges, but the resemblances
which we have before us in Rites, Symbols, and Organisation, will admit of no
such general {243} explanation. It
must be clear to the most superficial thinker that there is far more in the
Masonic MSS. and the Rites than they have yet been credited with, for their
whole tenor proves the intimate affinity which existed, even in the most ancient
times, between all the Arcane Schools of knowledge.
This is equally apparent whether we seek it in the Egyptian Constitution
of Athelstan, which informs us it was originally a Craft for the study of
Geometry, and which therefore implies a Society equally speculative and
operative; or in the Semitic Constitution which came into England later; for
such a distinction only shews the transmission of certain rites, with the same
aim, through two different channels; the one a continuous type of that
Speculative Masonry which erected the great Pyramid to represent the Egyptian's
faith in the soul's future destiny; the other of that Chaldean faith symbolised
in the tower of Borsippa; somewhat opposed as Rites, but one in general aim; two
systems pointing respectively to Egypt and Babylon. In this chapter we have leant rather to
the Greco-Egyptian than the Semitic view, but when we reach Anglo-Norman times
of the Masonic Guilds we shall see much change in this respect and that a close
connection with Palestine introduced new legends and their concomitant Rites.

{244}

CHAPTER VIII.

MASONRY IN SAXON ENGLAND.

DURING the period embraced in this heading, which includes
British times, all the manual arts were Clerical professions in so far as this,
that the Monks acted as teachers and directors of lay associations, more or less
attached to the Monasteries.
Architecture was exercised under the shadow of the church, and M. Blanqui
in writing of the French Monasteries observes that "they were the true origin of
industrial Corporations; their birth confounds itself with the Convents where
the work was arranged; it is thence that serving with the Franks liberty and
industry, long enslaved by the Romans, goes out free to establish itself in the
bosom of the towns of the middle ages." Nor is this all, from the earliest times
of Christianity a community of interests, and of knowledge and art, was
maintained by means of Couriers journeying to and fro throughout the world,
amongst the whole Christian Fraternity, which may account for the sudden and
widespread adoption, of particular styles, in countries distant from each other.

There
is no doubt that, even in Druidical times, the Romans organised in the chief
cities of this country Colleges of Artificers on the Latin model, although the
Britons were themselves, at the time, noble architects.
These Colleges were continued by Romanised Britons after the withdrawal
of the Roman troops near the middle period of the fifth century, and though the
wars with the Saxons must have greatly retarded the labours of the societies,
the Saxons interfered but little with city life, {245} contenting themselves
with rural affairs. We may therefore
conclude that the Art-fraternities were continued, even if influenced by the
Clergy and by such Guild life as the Saxons may have brought over with them.

Arranmore has some ancient fortresses.
One of these, built 2,000 years ago, had walls 220 feet long, 20 feet high, and
18 to 20 feet thick, and is built on a cliff hundreds of feet sheer to the sea;
three sets of massive walls surround the largest fort.

As we
have remarked the "Articles and Points" of the Masonic MSS. are in agreement
with the "Corpus Juris" of the Collegia, which again are found in an
Egypto-Greek source.

As the
Clergy were the builders of their Churches, the chief Monks and Bishops figure
in the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge, prepared in 1723, as Grand Masters of
the Fraternity; and it must at least be admitted that Anderson was half correct,
and there is little of any other mode by which the matter can be treated in this
chapter; for Art was an Oath-bound Society the property of those who had learned
Art by an Apprenticeship.

There are numerous Roman remains in this
country of buildings which were erected during the occupation of the island by
the Latin troops; and amongst these are to be found many interesting particulars
in York, London, Chichester, St. Albans, but scattered over the whole island.
Newcastle was in ancient times a place of great importance, and the Romans had a
military station in the place by A.D. 78, and a bridge was built over the river
to connect it and Gateshead and named the "Pons" Aelii.
The Roman foundations were eventually occupied by Monks, for we learn
that when Aldwin, with two Monks, travelled from Gloucester in 1194 to restore
the religious foundations, the place was known as Monkchester; and the mother
church of St. Nicholas is said to have been erected upon a Roman temple; and St.
Mary's Church at Gateshead is said to be as old, if not older. {246} Pandon, now a part of Newcastle,
was peopled by Saxons, and was a Royal residence before 654 A.D.

Didron<<"Ichnography," i, p. 456.>> gives a Latin sculpture, of the first
ages, on which is represented a pair of callipers, compasses, square, skirret,
level, maul, chisel, and pen or stylus; an ordinary set-square is often found as
an amulet on Egyptian mummies. With the exception of the first and last
these comprise the symbolic tools of a Free-mason, and though the plumb rule, 24
inch gauge, which is an old Egyptian emblem of Truth and of Thoth, the perfect
Ashlar, a symbol everywhere as ancient as Man, are lacking, these are found on
other Roman remains, with many other emblems, and Masons' Marks of which mention
has already been made.

In
Masonic history special mention is made of Verulam, out of the Roman remains of
which St. Albans was built, and, it is said that the town was walled round by
Alban the Martyr. It is a legend
which may have been taken from some Monastic history by a Masonic lodge of the
13th century in that place.
Chichester had a College of Roman Artisans that erected a temple circa 46-52
A.D., and Masons' Marks are found in the remains of the city.
In the year 114 Marius the British Pendragon, so named as the military
chief of the great golden Dragon-standard of Britain, executed a treaty with
Tacitus by which Roman law was to be recognised in such towns as might become
Municipia or colonies; and the garrisons of York, Chester, and Bangor were to be
recruited from British Volunteers; as Rome strengthened herself Christianity was
tolerated, but Druidism was prohibited.
A quantity of Roman coins was found in the South-basin at Chichester in
1819, and three with the following emblems: Nerva 96 A,D., two joined hands, and
"concordia execretus," encircling. Hadrian, 117 A.D., moon and seven stars. Antonius Pius, 138 A.D., two joined
hands, two ears of corn, "Cos III."<<"Freemasonry in Havant," 892a, Thos.
Francis.>>
We might assume that {247} Chichester in Sussex was the centre of the
Roman fraternity, and Verulam a branch.
Upon St. Rook's hill is the remains of an ancient building with
entrenchments which during the last and the previous century was used as a place
of Masonic Assembly, and near this, at Lavant, are caves with a series of
chambers where a very curious copper level, intended to be worn, was
discovered.<<"A.Q.C.," 1898, W. H. Rylands.>>

York
has a multitude of Roman remains dating from the time of Adrian and Severus,
134-211 A.D., and later under Constantius.
There was discovered at Toft Green in 1770 beneath the foundation of a Roman
temple of brickwork a stone with this inscription, "Deo sancto Serapi Templvm
asolo fecit Cl. Hieronymianus leg. vi. vic." -- "This temple, sacred to the god
Serapis, was erected, from the ground, by Claudius Hieronymianus, Lieutenant of
the sixth conquering legion." On each side of the inscription are two
identical ornaments which it is difficult to describe, each is of three circles
with a rod, or straight line drawn through them; the other is a peculiar trisula
having in its centre a star of six points; at the bottom is a circle with an
eight-pointed star in the centre, and in that a point. There was also found in Micklegate in
1747 a piece of sculpture said to represent Mythras sacrificing a bull; and in
1638 was found an altar erected to Jupiter by the Prefect Marcianus. A semi-subterranean temple of Mythras was
discovered in 1822 at Housesteads in Northumberland, containing an Altar
dedicated in 235 A.D., and there are other remains in Chesterholm and Rutchester
in the same county; at the latter place is a recess hewn out of the solid rock,
called the giant's grave, measuring 12 X 4 1/2 by 2 feet deep. At one end is a hole; this seems to
resemble "St. Patrick's hole," in Donegal.
Several altars have been found in Cumberland and Westmorland dedicated to
Baalcadris. "Acta Latamorum" and
Rebold give a very probable explanation of the Masonic Legend of Verulam.
Carausius caused himself to be elected and proclaimed Emperor of Britain by the
{248} Channel Fleet in 284 A.D., and braved all the efforts of Diocletian to
dethrone him. He renewed the privileges of the Collegia
in their entirety as these had been much curtailed in the course of centuries,
and is therefore supposed to have appointed Albanus as his Inspector. An inscription to Carausius was found at
Carlisle in 1894, and his coins are numerous.
He was assassinated at York in 295 A.D., and Constantius Chlorus took up
his residence there, and confirmed the privileges of the Guilds or Collegia.
Brother Giles F. Yates states that an old MS. of the life of St. Alban, the
proto-martyr, in British characters was found in the tenth century,

and Matthew Paris refers to a book of great antiquity as
existing in the Monastery of St. Albans.

Britain
had clearly attained architectural distinction in the time of Carausius and was
able to send competent men to instruct the Gauls, for Eumenius, the panegyrist
of Maximium, congratulates the Emperor on behalf of the city of Autin, which he
informs us was renovated by architects from this country, in the following
words: "It has been well stored with Artificers since your victories over the
Britains, "whose provinces abound with them," and now by their workmanship the
city of Autin rises in splendour by rebuilding their ancient houses, the
erection of public works, and the instauration of temples. The ancient name of a Roman brotherhood
which they long since enjoyed is again restored by having your Imperial Majesty
as their second founder."<<"Paneg. Maximian Aug. dict." -- Oliver's "Remains,"
iii, and v; also "Masonic Mirror," 1855, p. 32.>>

Christian architecture, however, is not much in evidence until Saxon times,
though the "new superstition," as the Romans termed it, is said to have entered
Glastonbury in the Apostleship of Joseph of Arimathea. Welsh historians assert that Christianity
was accepted in a National Council held by King Lucius A.D. 155, when the
Archdruids of Evroc, Lud, and Leon, became Archbishops and the Chief Druids of
28 cities became bishops. It is
{249} further asserted that of the British captives carried to Rome, Claudia and
Pudens are addressed by name in the Gospel.
King Lucius is said to have been educated at Rome by St. Timotheus, the
son of Claudia, to have been proclaimed King in the year 125, and to have been
baptised by Timotheus 155 A.D.; after which he proceeded to erect churches at
Winchester; Llandaff; St. Peter's, London; and St. Martin's, Canterbury; the
faith was then styled Regius Domus, or Royal house. British history says that at this time
there were in existence 59 magnificent cities, and numberless handsome
residences. Of Monasteries the
Triads say: There are three perpetual Choirs in the Isle of Britain -- Great
Bangor, Caer-Salog (Salisbury), Avillon (Glastonbury); the first named was
munificently endowed by King Lucius; it covered a square of five miles, had
10,000 teachers, and every graduate had to learn some profession, art, or
business. Minucius Felix comments upon the absence
of temples and altars amongst the Christians of the 3rd century, and of the
uselessness of such works in honour of an all embracing Deity, and then says:
"Is it not far better to consecrate to the Deity a temple in our heart and
spirit?" It was not until about the
year 270 that Christians were allowed to assemble in buildings of their own at
Rome, and these appear to have been first erected in imitation of the "Scholae"
or Lodge rooms, of the artizans, but in Britain there was but one year's
persecution of the Christians, when Socrates, Archbishop of York, the Bishop of
St. Albans, and others lost their lives. About the year 300 church was erected at
Verulam over the martyred body of St. Alban, which Bede says was a handsome
structure; and Tanner says that there was a church at Winchester, dedicated to
Amphibalus who converted him. There
was an Archbishop of York at this time, for Eborius in the year 3I4 attended the
Council of Arles in Gaul and is described as "Episcopus de civitate Eboracum
Provincia Brit." The same Council
was attended by Restitus of {250} London, and Adifius of Caerleon on Usk, which
is Lincoln.

These
Christian Britains -- monks, priests, and bishops, were known as Culdees,
servants of God; they established Monasteries and Churches in various parts of
England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, and there is no doubt that many of them
were converts from the Druidical faith; in these countries they opened Colleges,
and Schools where handicrafts, arts, sciences, and religion were taught to the
people. Their faith was heretical
according to the standard which the Church of Rome had adopted after the
succession of Constantine, and they were what Cardinal J. H. Newman terms
Platonising Christians, or of the esoteric Arcane Discipline. They believed in the immortality of the
soul, but not in the Jewish doctrine of a resurrection of the material body,
which was the teaching of Judaising Christians.
They are also accused of denying the existence of a personal devil, and
the personality of Jesus, in which case they were Gnostics, but the reader may
refer back to the subject in Chapter VI.
St. Patrick is said to have been born a Druid and to have left Dumbarton
for Ireland in the year 432. Both
ancients and moderns charge them with possessing a secret doctrine, and when in
589 Columban went to Burgundy with 12 companions from Ireland (as Columba had
previously done in 561 to Icolmkili, the Arcane Mystery gave offence; the King
demanded of him, why, as in his own country, "access to their secret enclosures
was not granted to all Christians," upon which the Culdee sternly replied, that
if he sought to destroy the Cenobia of God his kingdom would assuredly perish.
This mission founded the Abbey of Luxeville, and others in France and Italy. In England their principal seat was York,
in Wales Bangor, in Ireland Donegal, in Scotland the Hebrides. Those Masons who possess intuition, and
the faculty of reading between the lines of such writers as we have quoted, will
perceive that Philosophy found it essential, and safe, to openly embrace
Christianity, whilst secretly conforming {251} to their old ideals, had it been
necessary we could have given plain proof of this. Even Eusebius says: "In order to render
Christianity more acceptable to the Gentiles, the priests adopted the exterior
vestments and ornaments used in the Pagan culte." Philosophy thus secured the survival of
its secrets, hence we find the 12 sons of Jacob assimilated to the Zodiacal
signs; and much Gnostic symbolism is found in church architecture -- lions,
serpents, and things to be named in due course.

The
Rev. W. L. Alexander in writing upon "Iona" says that whilst the Roman armies
were harrying the Druids at Anglesea there was a College of them in the Scottish
islands situated 56 Degrees 59' N.L. designated "lnnis-nan-Druid-neach" -- the
Isle of the Druids -- and that that priesthood prevailed over all the other
islands until the year 563-4 when Colum or Columba arrived with 12 companions
who were continued in that number till after ages.
It is said that there existed there certain Druidical priests who professed to
be Christians in the hope of inducing Columb to withdraw, and after the
settlement of Columb and his friends, the island began to he known as
"li-cholum-chille" -- the island of Columbus' Cell, corrupted to Icolmkill, and
we have also "li-shona" -- the holy island, corrupted to Iona.

We may
now say something in reference to the construction of their churches. Prior to the 5th century, all Christian
churches were after the model of the ancient temples of Egypt divided into three
parts, and which corresponded with the secret or esoteric doctrine; and we need
have no doubt that the emblematical significance of the architecture was a
"close tyled" Mystery of the Initiated builders, and that as in the ancient
temples, they were built to symbolise a spiritual doctrine, which ordinary
Christians were unacquainted with.
The first part, or "Ante-temple," was for the Catechumens, disciples, and
penitents; the second part or Nave was for the lay members and the faithful; the
third part or "Sanctuary" was a semi-circular recess with an arched roof, raised
above {252} the floor by steps; it represents the Sanctuary of the ancient gods,
open only to the priests; within it was the throne of the Bishop which was
usually veiled, and placed besides it were smaller thrones for the Clergy; in
the centre of this most holy place was the altar.
In Gothic buildings, of a later date, this part is called the "Chancel" and was
separated by a "Rood-screen" of carved wood or other material; and it is
remarkable that the carvers, at times, took great liberties with the Monks and
priests, in the representation of their vices.
There is even much recondite symbolism to be found on the outer walls of such
buildings. The Secret Discipline, at
these early dates, regulated the symbology of the edifices, and the
"Vesica-piscis," so often found on ancient temples, and churches of all eras, is
held to be the great secret of constructive measurements, and, as has been
stated, the Sign of the Epopts both in Philosophy and Christianity.

In
regard to early erections, a small church of rough stone was raised at
Peranzabulae in Cornwall about the year 400 by the Culdee Pirau an Irish saint,
over whose tomb was found an equilimbed cross of the Greek form, when the
building was disinterred in 1835, after having been covered over for ten
centuries. Thong Castle in Lincolnshire was erected
for the Saxons about the year 450, it must have been a British labour. A church of stone was erected at Candida
Casa, by the Culdee bishop Ninian 488 A.D.; and Matthew of Westminster tells us
that the British King Aurelius Ambrosius, who slew the Saxon Hengist at
Conisborough in 466, repaired the churches, travelling to and fro for that
purpose, and sent for Cementarii or Masons, and Lignarii, or Carpenters. Legends state that he erected Stonehenge
with blocks brought from Ireland by the engineering skill of Merlin, and that
both himself and his brother Uther the Pendragon were buried within its circle
(but Norman Lockyer examining it as a Planetarium, dates it, by the Sun, at 1680
B.C.); he defeated Hengist's sons at York in 490. In 524 Arthur son of Uther, defeated the
Saxons, and at {253} Christmas of that year he held a Council at York to
consider ecclesiastical affairs, and methods were taken to restore the churches
and the ruined places at York, which had been occasioned by his wars to expel
the Saxons. Though Arthur the
Pendragon is alleged to have been buried at Glastonbury the legends of the
Prince seem to belong chiefly to Cumberland and the adjacent parts, which formed
the Kingdom of the Strathclyde Britains; the names used in the Romances of his
Round Table and in the connected tales, are Cambrian, and Blase of
Northumberland is said to have registered his doings.
Denton says that near St. Cuthbert's Church, Carlisle, in Cumberland, "stood an
ancient building called Arthur's chamber, taken to be part of the mansion house
of Arthur, the son of Uter Pendragon, of memorable note for his worthiness in
the time of antient Kings."<<Quoted in "Hist. Cumb." by Wm. Hutchinson, 1794.
ii, p. 606.>>
The Prince was no doubt a Romanised Briton, though his name does not
belong to the Celtic language, and that he was a real person who strove to unite
the British Christians against the Saxons is beyond serious question.
The allegorical history of the Round-table, and the Knights' "Quest of the
Sangrael," or cup of the blood of Christ, is supposed to refer, in mystic terms,
to Culdee rites; and in spite of the efforts of Rome the Culdee culte continued
to exist in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland down to the Norman conquest,
and, in places, until long afterwards.
At Caerleon on Usk were two churches, and an important Culdee "College of two
hundred Philosophers learned in Astronomy, and in all the sciences and the
arts."

It is
more than probable that the peculiarities of the Culdee system arose from the
engraftation of Druidical beliefs upon the Christian faith. Many learned writers have sought to
derive Free Masonry both from a Druidical and Culdee establishment. The latter is not at all improbable for
one of the branches. The following
may be pointed out at random: -- The custom of symbolising Craft officers by the
sun and moon; for the Arch {254} Druid bore the sun and crescent moon on his
head dress, whilst the Bard was designated by the crescent moon, equally the
tonsure of a Culdee Monk went from ear to ear, in crescent, as opposed to the
coronial tonsure of the Romans. A
Culdee origin has also been claimed for the Templars, and the modern ceremonies
of that body commemorate the 13 of Iona.

St.
Cibi's, as asserted by Sir John Stanley, was founded in 550 on a Roman temple at
Holyhead. It was, however, rebuilt
"temp." Edward III., and again in the reign of Henry VII.

Toland
says that the Druidical College of Derry was converted into a Culdee Monastery. About the year 561 Columba and twelve
companions left Ireland to build the Monastery of Icolmkill, and Masonic legend
assigns the lectures of the Mastership of Harodim to this Monastery; they
founded Colleges at Govan and Kilwinning; and Aidan, one of the twelve,
established the original Abbey of Melrose.
The fraternity had other establishments in Scotland; at Abernethy; St. Serf in
Lochleven; Dunkeld; St. Andrews; Moneymusk in Aberdeenshire; Dunblane;
Dunfermline; and Aberdeen. Their
establishment at Brechin has left a cylinder or Round Tower of unknown date.
At each side of the western entrance, near an ancient gateway, is carved in
relief an elephant having the feet of a lion and a horse.
Brother R. Tytler, M.D., in a paper read before the Antiquarian Society of
Scotland,<<Vide "Freem. Quart.," 1834.>> makes a precise comparison between this
and an astronomical allegory, in like situation, in various Hindu temples.
Above this carving is an apparently later crucifixion scene with two Monks. It is said that during the life of
Columba 100 monasteries were erected, and the Irish claim to have sent
architects to Britain some centuries before this time.

The
voyage of Bran, son of Febal (a MS. of 1100), to the Island of Joy, or the Land
of the Living, is attributed to Adamnan, Abbot of Ionia, who died in 703; it
mentions {255} nine grades of heaven in three steps, and that a fiery circle
surrounds the land of the blessed.
The throne is a canopied chair with four columns of precious stones, and beneath
it are seven glassen walls. The sect
in England had seats at Lindisfarne, York, and Ripon.

Mr.
Grant Allen in his Anglo-Saxon Britain (1884) says: "It is possible that the
families of Craftsmen may at first have been Romanised Welsh inhabitants of the
cities, for all the older towns -- London, Canterbury, York, Lincoln, and
Rochester -- were almost certainly inhabited without interruption from the Roman
period onward."

The
Roman law, and therefore the Guilds or Collegia, never became extinct in any
place where the Romans had once had a footing.
They entered Germany with the sack of Rome by the Goths, a country unconquered
by arms. Alaric II. of the
Wisegoths, 484-507, commissioned Roman Jurists to compile a code on the basis of
the Lex Theodosii which was adopted by all Gaul.
Theodrich the Ostragoth in the year 500 promulgated a similar code, which
aimed at fusing Roman and Goth into one people. A third compilation of Roman law called
the Burgundian "Lex Romano" was promulgated about the year 520 by
Sigmund.<<"Arminius," Thos. Smith, F.S.A.. London, 1861.>>
It follows from this that, so far from the Roman Collegia being extinguished
with the Empire, they spread throughout Germany.
Smith further says: "These Colleges are evidently the Guilds of the Middle ages;
in the Roman Disciple we may detect the modern Apprentice, and in the hereditary
obligation to follow a particular trade, we may discern the origin of freedom by
birth, or by servitude, in Corporate towns.
The leading idea in Roman institutions was Municipal. Every franchise was the result of
belonging to some College, and we thus infer that the franchise of Cities owe
their origin to Rome. Thus to the
Municipia of Rome, not to German institutions, are to be ascribed the origin and
form of the Municipal Corporations of the middle ages."<<"Arminius," Thos.
Smith, F.S.A.. London, 1861.>>

Apropos
of this quotation is the existence of the Magistri {256} Comacenes, settled near
the lake of Como, who hired themselves out to build for the Lombards and are
mentioned by the Rev. Charles Kingsley.<<"Roman and Teuton," 1891, Lec. x. p.
253.>> They are supposed to have
fled to a small island on Lake Como, on the sack of Rome by the Goths, where
they kept alive the ancient rules of their art, whence was developed the various
Italian Styles, the Norman, and the Saxon. Not only was their organisation that of
the Collegia but the ornamentation of their architectural work. They venerated the Four crowned Martyrs,
and were divided into Scolia or Apprentices; Laborerium, operii or those who did
the actual work; the Opera or Fabbrica, or the Magistri who designed and taught
the others. Leader Scott quotes an
Edict of the Lombard King Rotharis, dated 22nd Nov., 643, conferring privileges
on the Magistri Comacini, and the Colligantes, and this when they had been long
established. She also quotes an
inscribed stone of 712 to shew that they had then Magistri and Discipula under a
Gastaldo or Grand Master and that the same terms were kept up in Lombardy,
amongst Free Masons, until the 15th century, and it is known that St. William,
Abbot of Benigne in Dijon, a Lombard by birth, brought in his countrymen to
build his monastery, and that Richard II., Duke of Normandy, employed this
architect for 20 years in like work.<<The "Cathedral Builders," Leader Scott,
1899, London.>> It is not so
difficult to connect Freemasonry with the Collegia, the difficulty lies in
attributing Jewish traditions to the Collegia, and we say on the evidence of the
oldest charges that such traditions had no existence in Saxon times.

"In
this darkness which extended over all Italy, only one small lamp remained
alight, making a bright spark in the vast Italian Necropolis. It was from the "Magistri Comacini."
Their respective names are unknown, their individual works unspecialised, but
the breath of their spirit might be felt all through those centuries, and their
name collectively is legion. We may
safely say that of all the {257} works of art between 800 and 1000, the greater
and better part are due to that brotherhood -- always faithful and often secret
-- of the 'Magistri Comacini.'" (J. A. Llorente, "Hist. of the Inquisition;"
London 1826. "I. Maestri Comacini;"
Milano 1893.)

The
conquest of Rome, by the Teutonic nations, led to a great extension of the
Christian Monasteries, during the 5th and 6th centuries, and these were usually
placed in quiet or inaccessible situations, the better to escape from the
tumults of the times. Here libraries
were established and the ancient learning found a resting place.
This led to the cultivation of the Mystical and the spiritual in man, and
it may be observed that the term Mystic is derived from the rank of Mystae in
the Mysteries, even as the term "Mystery" was adopted by trade Guilds to mean
their art, and "closed lips."

Stowe
says that in the 7th or 8th century the walls of London were rebuilt by
Benedictine Monks brought from Birkenhead.
The founder of this brotherhood was St. Benedict, born at Nursia in Umbria about
A.D. 480; he went to Monte Cassino, 530, afterwards the centre of his order, and
there composed his rule, which entered England between the 6th and 7th century. Archdeacon Prescott says: "The finest
Abbeys, and nearly all the Cathedrals, belonged to the order."

About
the year 597 Augustine came over to England from the Church of the Quatuor
Coronati at Rome. His instruction
from Pope Gregory was: "Destroy the idols, never the temples; sprinkle them with
holy water, place in them relics, and let the nations worship in the places
accustomed." He is said to have brought over Roman
Masons, and a further number in the year 601; he died in 605. It has been supposed that he built the
Church of the Four crowned Martyrs at Canterbury, which is mentioned casually by
Bede in 619. This introduction of
Masons from Rome is usually taken to prove that the building fraternities had
become extinct in this country, but it does no such thing. There was no doubt a scarcity {258} of
capable men amongst the Saxons for the work which the Romish Saint had in view,
but we cannot altogether rely upon the good faith of their historians, nor are
we at all justified in assuming that the native British Masons, Carpenters, and
the building fraternities derived from the Romano-heathen population were
extinct, and we have proofs to the contrary in the Culdee erections of St. Peter
at York in 626, and in the Culdee establishment at Lindisfarne in the year 634
by Aidan, a Monk of Icolmkill in Iona; and in the "Holy Island" St. Cuthbert was
interred before the City of Durham existed. There lies, behind, the fact that Rome
considered all British Christianity as heretical, and all the successors of
Augustine followed his role, with the unsuccessful object of wholly destroying
Culdee influence. Bede informs us
that the British Christians refused either to live, or eat, with the
Augustinians, and they replied to a demand for obedience: "We owe obedience only
to God, and after God to our venerable head, the Bishop of Caerleon-on-Uske." Bede complains also that Monasteries had
been established by laymen with themselves as Abbots, whilst still continuing
married relations with their wives, a Culdee custom, sanctioned by example of
Bishop Synesius. He says also that a
Martyrium of the "four blessed Coronati" existed at Canterbury 619-24.

The
British Pendragons seem to have kept the Saxons in check, but they were able to
destroy Bangor in the year 607.
Deira was strongly reinforced by Angles from the Saxon coast, and King Edwin
solicited from his friend Caswallon, the British Pendragon, that he might assume
the regal crown as Bretwalda, but Caswallon refused his sanction, on the ground
that there was "one sole crown of Britain." Kemble says that, "The Saxons neither
took possession of the towns, nor gave themselves the trouble of destroying
them." The Heptarchial princelings
and their villagers were Pagans, and exercised but small influence. Pope Boniface IV. is credited with the
grant {259} of privileges in 614 to those architects who had the erection of
sacred buildings.

In 616
Ethelbert King of Kent built the Church of St. Peter, and St. Paul, at
Canterbury, upon the site of a small church erected by the early Britains; also
the church of St. Andrew in Rochester; and he is thought to have restored St.
Paul's in London, erected on the site of a temple to Diana, though other writers
suppose it to have been built within the area of what was the Roman Pretorian
Camp in the time of Constantine.
Siebert King of the West Saxons, in 630, built the Monastery of Westminster, on
the site of a Temple to Apollo, and it was repaired in the next century by Offa
King of Mercia. About the middle of
this century, say 650, an Irish saint of the name of Bega established a small
Nunnery at the place now called St. Bees in Cumberland, then a British port, and
a church was erected afterwards in her honour.

The
Romans had a temple at Teignmouth, and here an important Priory was erected. In the reign of Edwin over Yorkshire,
Durham, and Northumbria, circa 626, a wooden edifice was erected here, similar
to Aidan's Church at Lindisfarne, and was followed by a church of stone erected
by his successor St. Oswald, circa 663.
After it had been destroyed by the Danes, it was restored by Ecgfrid, in
the 15th year of whose reign the neighbouring church at Jarrow was dedicated,
and which, with that of Wearmouth, is in the diocese of Hexham.

In the
year 675, Benedict Biscop is said to have brought over from France skilled
Masons to erect the Monastery at Jarrow.
At the same date Wilfrid founded Ripon, Hexham, and Ely, bringing Masons from
Rome or Italy and France. King Ina
also rebuilt Glastonbury; and William of Malmesbury informs us that it possessed
a sapphire of inestimable value, perhaps the origin of the legend of the Graal
cup. The same writer says: "In the pavement
are stones designedly laid in triangles and squares, and fixed with lead, under
which if I believe some sacred enigma to be enshrined I do no injustice to {260}
religion"; he also alludes to two pyramidical structures in the churchyard.

Anglo-Saxon building, sometimes of wood, and then of stone, continued upon their
gradual conversion to Christianity.
In 643 Kenweath of Wessex "bade timber the old Minster of Winchester." In 654 "Botulf began to build a Monastery
at Icambo" (Boston). In 657, Penda
of Mercia and Oswin of Northumbria built a Monastery at Medeshamstede
(Peterborough). Oswin built six in
Deira. In 669 Echbert of Kent gave
"Reculver to Bass, the Mass-priest, to build a Monastery."
In 669 St. Ethelreda "began the Monastery at Ely."
Before 735, religious houses existed at Lastringham, Melrose,
Lindisfarne, Whithern, Bardney, Gilling, Bury, Ripon, Chertsey, Barking,
Abercorn, Selsey, Redbridge, Aldingham, Towcester, Hackness, and several other
places. The Irish Monks were active
abroad; in 582 St. Peter's Convent at Salzburg was erected by Rudbert. About 610, convents at Costnitz and
Augsburg erected by Edumban. About
606, convents at Regenburg under Rudbert.
About 740, convents at Eichstadt under the Irish monk Wildwald. As to military architecture we read that
Edward, the father of Athelstan, had twenty fortresses between Colchester,
Manchester, and Chester. Why then
should we dispute the existence of such Guilds as are shadowed in our ancient
Masonic MSS.? Professor Freeman says that St. Mary le
Wigford Church was built by Coleswegan.

Aelfred, brother of Ecfrid King of Northumberland, sojourned in Ireland to
acquire from the Monks the learning of the period, and on the death of Ecfrid,
in 685, he was recalled to succeed him, but it is very doubtful whether the
Britons recognised these Saxons as Kings, until Egbert became Bretwalda in the
year 824. In 690 Theodore, Bishop of Canterbury,
erected King's School in that city.
In 716 Ethelbald built Croyland in Lincolnshire.
Of this period a series of drawings exist amongst the Cottonian MSS. in
the British Museum, and have been engraved for the "Freemasons' Magazine,"
scenes in the {261} life of St. Guthlac; one of these represents him in the act
of building his chapel. The Saint is hoisting up material to a
Mason who is laying a stone at the top of the building; near the Saint is a
stone-cutter who is hewing the stone into shape with an axe. We shall see later that a chisel was used
in Norman times,

and soon after a claw-adze. Although the Arch had its origin in high
antiquity, and is said to have been found in Babylonian remains near 10,000
years old, preference was given in early English church architecture to the
straight lintel of the Pagan temples, then Arches followed, but it was not until
the 10th century that vaulted roofs came into use, and soon spread over the
whole of Europe. As early as the 8th
century the English Monk, St. Boniface or Winifrid, established in Germany a
special class of Monks for the practice of building, with the grades of Operarii
or Craftsmen, and Magistri operum or Masters of Work. Some of these acted as designers, others
as painters or sculptors, others wrought in gold and silver embroidery, and
others were Cementarii or Stone Masons: occasionally it was necessary to employ
laymen under their superintendence.<<"Ludwig Steiglitz," quoted by Mackey.>>

The
church of York, erected in 626, was damaged by fire in 741, and Archbishop
Egbert began a new church. About the
year 793 Offa King of Mercia erected the Monastery of St. Albans near the old
Roman Verulam, and in the Cottonian Library is a picture, also engraved for the
"Freemasons' Magazine," shewing him in the act of giving instructions to his
Master Mason, who has the square and compasses in hand; a Mason on the top is
using a plumb-rule, whilst another is setting a stone; below are two Masons
squaring stones with an axe. These
drawings are by Matthew of Paris about the year 1250.
Offa before beginning this work made a journey to Rome by way of France,
and Brother C. C. Howard, of Picton, supposes that he brought Masons thence for
his work. At Lyminge in Kent there
is an old church built upon a {262} Roman Basilica by Saxon Masons; it is
noteworthy as having an old Roman sun-dial built into the south wall of the Nave
by St. Dunstan circa 965. It may be
noted here that in recent times a bronze square and compasses were dug up at
Corfu, along with coins and vessels of the 8th and 9th centuries.

The
Romans seem not to have had a settlement at Durham, and we do not hear of the
place during the time of the Saxon Heptarchy.
The Bishop's See was founded at Lindisfarne as early as 635. In 883 the Bishop and his clergy took up
their abode at the Roman Chester-le-Street, where they remained with the body of
St. Cuthbert until 995, when the Danes caused them to take up their wanderings
with the body of that Saint.
In 999 Aldune the Bishop caused the Cathedral to be erected, and ere 90
years had passed this small edifice gave place to the present stately fabric.

During
all this period the Saxons had a Guild system in full operation; and the old
laws of Alfred, Ina, and Athelstan reproduce still older laws acknowledging the
Guilds. The old Brito-Roman cities
must have continued their Guilds during these centuries, even whilst the Saxons
were making laws on the subject, and establishing new ones on the old lines. The laws of Ina, 688-725, touch upon the
liability of a Guild, in the case of killing a thief. In 824 England had absorbed Britain and
Saxon under Egbert, and the latter had become the ruling element. These Guilds exacted an Oath of secrecy
for the preservation of trade "Mysteries," and obedience to the laws. The Judicia Civitatis were ordinances to
preserve the social life of Guilds, of the time of Athelstan. A law of Edgar, 959-75, ordains that
"every priest for increase of knowledge shall diligently learn some handicraft,"
but this was only enforcing old Culdee customs. There is said to be a letter of the 9th
century, written by Eric of Auxerre to Charles the Bald of France, in praise of
certain Irish philosophers, who, as "servants of the wise Solomon," were
visiting France under the King's protection, who "for {263} the instruction of
his countrymen," attracted thither Greeks and Irishmen.
This probably refers to the erection of Aixe-la-Chapelle by his grandfather
Charlemagne. It was introduced into the Irish Masonic
Calendar by the late Brother Michael Furnivall, and has created an impression
that there existed in Ireland at this period some Society analogous to the Sons
of Solomon in France, which we shall mention shortly. St. Werberg at Chester is said to be
erected on the site of a Saxon Church as old as 845.

About
the year 850 Ethelwolf, King and Bretwalda, is said to have employed St. Swithin
to repair the pious houses. The
Danes burnt Croyland Monastery in 874 and slew Abbot Theodore at the altar
steps. Alfred the Great, about 872, fortified
and rebuilt many towns, and founded the University of Oxford. In 865, and again in 870, the Priory of
Teignmouth, where the Nuns of Hartlepool had taken refuge, was destroyed by the
Danes and again rebuilt.

It is
certain that in these times, a large number of timber structures were erected;
it was a style of building which admitted of rough stone and rubble work, and
was equally common both in England and France.
This is probably the reason why our ancient "Constitutions" state, as
they do, that the original designation of the Fraternity was Geometry, which was
as necessary in buildings of wood as of stone, and is some evidence of the
antiquity of these ancient MSS.
An authority maintains that later erections of stone, by the Saxons, were
influenced by this style, as in the use of stone buttresses in imitation of
timber beams, and in window balustres or pillars made to imitate work turned in
a lathe.<<"Freems. Mag.," J. F. Parker, F.S.A., 1861. iv, p. 183.>>
Doubtless many of the churches burnt by the Danes were of wood, and rebuilt of
stone. In Constantinople, and the East
generally, wooden structures continue, and are preferred to stone.

In the
year 915 Sigebert, King of the East Angles, began the erection of the University
of Cambridge, which was completed by Ethelward the brother of King Edward {264}
the elder. This latter erected many
considerable works and fortifications, repairing, says Holinshed, in 920, the
city of Manchester, defaced by the wars of the Danes. He was succeeded by his elder, but
illegitimate, son, Athelstan, who is said in the oldest MS. Constitution to have
"built himself churches of great honour, wherein to worship his God with all his
might." Anderson says that Athelstan
rebuilt Exeter, repaired the old Culdee church at York, and also built many
castles in the old Northumbrian Kingdom to check the Danes; also the Abbey of
St. John at Beverley; and Melton Abbey in Dorsetshire. If for the advancement and improvement of
architecture this King granted an actual charter to York, he would naturally do
the same to Winchester, in which city he fixed his royal residence; and there we
find architecture flourishing. Few
Saxon specimens of architecture now exist; there is the tower of Earl's Barton
Church, Lincolnshire; Sempling in Sussex; St. Michael's in Oxford.

A fine
specimen of military architecture of the period is Castle Rushen in Man. It is believed to have been begun by King
Orry and completed by his son Guthred, circa 960; it resembles so closely one at
Elsinore in Denmark that they are both supposed to be by the same architect.
The one in Man is built of the limestone of the district, and is in a state of
perfect preservation; the elements have had no effect upon the stone, owing to a
hard, glass-like glaze, admitting of a high polish, from which it may be
inferred that the military architects were acquainted with some chemical secrets
that remain a secret to this day.

In 942
Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury began the restoration of his Cathedral; it was
afterwards much injured by the Danes in 1011, and King Canute ordered its
restoration; again it suffered by fire in 1043.
In the time of Ethelworth and St. Dunstan, who was a Benedictine Monk,
Anderson says, 26 pious houses were erected, and under Edgar 48 pious houses. Between 963-84, {265} Ethelwold, Bishop
of Winchester, erected 40 Monasteries, and is styled the "Constructor," of his
Cathedral church. Edgar, in 969, at
the instance of Dunstan, repaired Westminster Abbey church. In 974, Ednoth, a Monk of Winchester,
superintended the erection of Romsay Abbey church. From 977-81, Aelfric, Abbot of
Malmesbury, is said to have been skilful in architecture.

There
is a charter of King Aethelred of the year 994 which describes the Deity in
Masonic terms as "Governor of the bright pole and Architect of the great
ethereal design . . . .of the world, unexpressibly placing in order the Fabric."
Another of King Canute uses the same preface.<<Thorpe's "English Charters,"
1865.>> The paucity of Anglo-Saxon
remains prevents our dealing largely with their Masonic Symbolism. There is, however, a bronze seal of
Aelfric Duke of Mercia, 992, with the legend "{+} Zigillum Aelfrici {symbol, a
"T" above two "X's" abutted to form a crossed-pair of chevrons, one chevron
inverted.}," thus placing the cross, and the square and compasses in
juxtaposition.<<"Freem. Mag.," I855, p. 509.>> De Caumont mentions a sarcophagus, of
this period, which bears a cross within a circle, and two levels placed
sideways.

With
the close of the year 1000 A.D. a great impulse was given to church building, as
a feeling prevailed that this year would see the end of the world. When the panic had passed the Christian
nations in thankfulness began building.
The Danes had caused great havoc in this country, and especially at York,
and had even revived heathen rites, which Canute proclaimed in the year 1030.
There is no reason to suppose that these wars extinguished the building
fraternities, and Canute in 1020 erected a stone Minster at Assingdon, and also
repaired the Minsters throughout England, as we are informed by William of
Malmesbury.
Leofric Earl of Coventry, circa 1050, built the Abbey of that City and 12
pious houses. King Edward the
Confessor rebuilt Westminster Abbey, devoting to the work a tenth of all his
substance. Of this reign there was a
curious inscription at Kirkdale, W.R. Yorkshire, which says that Orin, son of
Gemel, rebuilt the {266} church; Chelittle was architect, assisted by Howard and
Brand the Priest. Yorkshire being
strong in the Danish element, Mason's Marks are often Runic letters.

Remains
of Saxon architecture yet exist in the churches of Jarrow; Monkwearmouth (both
Biscop's 681); at Repton, Co. Derby (875); Ripon, Hexham, York (in Crypts);
Earls Barton, and Barnick, Co. Northampton; Barton on Humber; Sompting, Co.
Sussex; Caversfield; Deerhurst, Brixworth, etc.
It is well known that the Tower of Babel was one of the most ancient
traditions of Masonry, and there is an old Saxon MS. which represents it in
course of erection with the Saxon pick, and on the top step of a very tall
ladder is the Master Mason giving the hailing sign of a Craftsman yet used,
whilst behind him, on the same level, is the angel with drawn sword; a copy of
it in Cassells' History of England, of the year 1901, can readily be examined. It is said that the keep of Arundel
Castle dates from Saxon times, but the chief entrance is a fine Norman doorway.

Mr.
James Ferguson says that in these times the working bands of Masons served under
Bishop, Abbot, or Priest, and this continued down to the 13th century. In travelling from one place to another
their costume was a short black, or grey, tunic open at the sides, to which a
gorget, or cowl or hood was attached; round the waist was a leathern girdle from
which depended a short, heavy sword, and a leathern satchel. Over the tunic they wore a black
scapulary, similar to that worn by the priests, which they tucked up under the
girdle when working. They had large
straw or felt hats; tight leather breeches, and long boots.
Attached to the Monasteries were "Oblali," who were usually received as
Monks, acted as serving brothers of the Masons, and whose costume was similar to
the travelling Masons, but without the cowl.

Owing
to the fact that modern Free Masonry has always looked to the North of England
as its Mecca, inasmuch so that last century its system was denominated "Ancient"
York Masonry in opposition to the Grand {267} Lodge of England organised in
1717, which was termed "Modern," we will retrace a little in respect to this
division of the old Saxon Heptarchy, which bore the name of Deira, and extended
from Humber to Forth, save the Western half which was the Kingdom of the
Stratchclyde Britons.
It was these two portions which continued to form the centre of Culdee
influence, the capital of Deira being York, and the centre of Ancient Masonry.

The
city of York possesses numerous remains of the Roman occupation, which the early
Christians converted to the use of the Church.
The Monastery of the Begging Friars is known to have been a temple dedicated to
the Egyptian Serapis, and we have already mentioned the inscription to Serapis
discovered at Toft Green in 1770. In
this City the British Legionaries, on the death of Constantius Chlorus, raised
his son Constantine, surnamed the Great, on their shields, and proclaimed him
Emperor 25th July, 306. The Culdee
King Arthur is believed to have occupied and repaired it in 522.

It is
considered that the Crypt of York Minster affords evidence of the progress of
Masonry from Brito-Roman times to Saxon occupation.
The Crypt has a Mosaic pavement of blue and white tiles, laid after the
form used in the 1st Degree of Masonry; it shews the sites of three stone altars
and such triplication was of Egyptian derivation; but these stone altars are
also said to have had seats which were used by the Master and his Wardens who
met here, after the manner related by Synesius of the Priests of Egypt, as a
sacred and secret place, during the construction of the edifice. It is known that the Craft occasionally
met in this Crypt during last century, and the alleged Masonic custom of meeting
in Crypts elsewhere is no doubt founded in fact.

As the
Christian worship at York was of Culdee origin, so the veneration paid to
Mistletoe was derived from the Druids.
The learned Brother Dr. Wm. Stukeley has this passage in his "Medallic History
of Carducius": "The {268} custom is still preserved, and lately at York on the
eve of Christmas Day they carry mistletoe to the high altar of the Cathedral and
proclaim a public and universal liberty, pardon, and freedom to all sorts of
inferior and even wicked people at the gates of the city towards the four
quarters of heaven."

It
follows from what we have seen that the Roman Collegia and the Mysteries of
Serapis existed side by side at York, and amongst the members of these it is no
improbable thing to suppose -- after the close connection which we have shewn to
have existed in Egypt -- that there were Brito-Romish Christians who established
the Culdee fraternities at York, before the days of Constantius Chlorus, about 2
1/2 centuries before King Arthur was in possession of the city, and that these
Culdees influenced the Masonic Collegia, and the same remark equally applies to
other cities of the time; and though there is no absolute proof that York was
the first centre of Culdee influence in the North, yet everything lends itself
to that supposition. Every
circumstance gives weight to the statements of the old Northern Constitutions of
Masonry, that, as Associates in Geometry, it was of Greco-Roman derivation from
Egypt; and that when it was thought fit to reorganise the Fraternity of
Artisans, the Craft produced MSS. in Greek, Latin, and British, which it is said
were "found to be all one "; and through this descent we reach those Sodalites
which studied in Symbols, Geometry, Science, and Theosophy in their home at
Alexandria.

When we
examine the MSS. which embody the ancient Laws of Freemasonry we find that their
historical statements and organisation are as much in agreement as their
ceremonies were, with the Arcane and Mystic schools. Nor is this to be wondered at since the
Culdee Monks were equally Serapians, Christians, and the Schoolmasters who
taught science and religion to the people.
As the Colleges of Artisans, which were introduced by the Romans as early
as 46 A.D., ceased to exist in the lapse {269} of years, if ever they did cease
to exist, which is very improbable, the members became attached to the Culdee
Monasteries and transmitted, through this alliance, their traditional art
secrets, and as the priests had their own version of the ancient Mysteries, they
understood that which the Masonic MSS. imply.

It is
an historical fact that the early Culdee priests were sometimes educated in
Rome, and that they were converted Druidical Initiates; generally speaking it
must have been so. Toland says that
in Ireland, Columba, the follower of St. Patrick, converted the Druidical
Sanctuaries into Christian Monasteries.<<Toland, i, 1726, p. 8.>>
He also provides us with a theory to explain the preservation of the Masonic
Constitutions in rhyme in this, that with the absorption of Druidism, which was
prohibited by Rome, into Christianity, it was found necessary to frame new
Regulations for the Bards and Minstrels.
Accordingly in 537 an assembly was held at Drumcat in modern Londonderry, at
which was present the King Ammerius, Aidus King of Scotland, and the Culdee
Columba, when it was resolved that, for the preservation of learning, the Kings
and every Lord of a Cantred or Hundred, should have a Bard, and that schools
should be endowed under the supervision of the Arch-

poet of the King.<<"Ibid," p. 4.>>
Thierry<<"Norman Conquest.">> states that when Northumberland, Cumberland, and
Westmorland, circa 1138, formed part of Scotland, the Anglo-Saxon traditions
were preserved by the Minstrels, and that from thence the old English poetry,
although obsolete in places inhabited by the Normans, again made itself heard in
a later age.

The
oldest version of the Constitutional Charges is in poetical form, and was first
printed by Mr. James Orchard Halliwell, who considers it to be a copy written in
the latter part of the 14th century.
Recently a copy has been printed in fine facsimile, with a most valuable
Commentary by Brother Robert Freke Gould, P.M. 2076, who conferred upon it its
present name of "Regius MS."
He {270} adduces strong evidence for our belief that this version of
Masonry may have been patronised by the Culdee Monks of York, and that the
system actually dates from the time of Edwin King of Deira, who was converted to
Christianity in the year 626 and for whose baptism a small church or Oratory was
constructed of wood, completed by St. Oswald in 642, and repaired by Bishop
Wilfrid in 669.

The
Culdee Alcuin, surnamed Flaccus and also Albinus, was engaged with Eanbald under
Aldbhert, who became Archbishop, in the rebuilding of York Minster of stone
between the years 760 and 780.
Alcuin and Eanbald made some journeys to the continent together, and on one
occasion at least to Rome, between the years 762 and 766, in search of books and
other knowledge, and it was in the year 766-7 that Aldbhert became Archbishop,
and converted Alcuin from a Layman into an ordained Deacon. Two years before his death in 788 the
Archbishop created Eanbald Coadjutor Bishop, and gave to Alcuin the charge of
his schools, and the now renowned library.

When
Alcuin went to France and became the friend and tutor of Charlemagne it would
seem that French Masonry would interlace with that of the North of England. Charlemagne was crowned a King in the
year 754, hut his father King Pepin lived until 768; and when Alcuin speaks, as
he does, "of the temple at Aachen which is being constructed by the art of the
most wise Solomon," he is paying a compliment to his friend Charlemagne; and
again in his treatise "De animae ratione" for the King's cousin Gundrede he also
compares him for wisdom to Solomon. Hence it seems to be possible that Alcuin
might have some knowledge of a Solomonian Masonry, and the Moslems then were, or
had been, occupying the South of France.
It is a curious fact that the receptions into the Vehm, founded by Charlemagne,
embraces all the salient points of Masonic reception, though the aims of the two
Societies were so dissimilar; {271} and this must be considered in estimating
German Masonic receptions.

The
ancient Monasteries possessed a "book of gestures," by which they could converse
by signs. The Trappists in Africa
use it at this day. The Masons of
old seem to have had a knowledge of this.

We have
every just reason to believe that a Masonic organisation was thus early in
existence, and that it was ratified and sanctioned by King Athelstan, who now
ruled all England from Winchester to Edwinsburg, now called Edinburgh; and who
visited York in the year 933, and again in 937, conferring great privileges upon
Beverley and Ripon of which Saxon charters, in rhyme, are produced; he also
enriched the Coldei, as they are then termed at York, where they were acting as
the priests of St. Peter's, and where they continued until they were relegated
to St. Leonard's Hospital by the Bastard to make room for Norman clerics at St.
Peter's. According to this poetical
Constitution, Athelstan, in order to remedy divers defects which existed in the
organisation of Craft Geometry or Masonry, invited all the Men of Craft to come
to him with their Council: --

"Asemble thenne he cowthe let make,

Of dyvers lordes yn here state,

Dukys, Erlys, and barnes also,

Knyzthys, squyers, and mony mo,

And the grete burges of that syte,

They were there alle yn here degree."

The
details of this poetical MS. is confirmed by a prose copy attached to a more
modern historical version in a MS. written before the year 1450, and which is
known to have been in possession of Grand Master Payne in 1721, and which was
first printed in 1868 by Brother Matthew Cooke and is hence termed the "Cooke
MS." A very precise examination of
this MS. has been made by Brother G. W. Speth in a Commentary which he has
issued with a facsimile, as well as the MS. itself, in book form bound in
oak-boards, which Brother W. J. Hughan {272} has justly described as a "gem."
Brother Speth has clearly demonstrated that this MS. is a copy made about 1450
by a later writer than the original compiler.
The first part is a Preface drawn by the author from various histories, Masonic
traditions and charges, and is of a later period than the Saxon Charges. To this Preface has been attached an
actual copy of the most ancient "Book of the Charges." With some slight differences; which we
will note from time to time, the poetical "Regius MS.," and the closing "Book of
Charges" of the "Cooke MS." are in substantial agreement, and either might well
be the original of the other.
The prose version of the composition of Athelstan's Assembly is not so
ornate as that of the poetical, but informs us that "for grete defaut founde
amongst Masons" he ordained "bi his counsellers and other greter lordys of the
londe, bi comyn assent," a certain rule. A number of such old MSS. tells us that
Athelstan granted a charter to hold such Assembly to his son Edwin, and although
Athelstan had no son of the name, he had a younger brother Edwin, whom he is
accused, on very insufficient evidence, of having caused to be drowned in 933;
Mabillon says, on equally doubtful evidence, that this Edwin was received into
the Benedictine Monastery of Bath in 944<<"Annals of the Order of St. Benedict,"
Paris, 1703.>>

It has
been recently held by Brother R. F. Gould, in a paper of 1892 upon the nature of
the Masonic General Assemblies that it may refer, not to a grant of their own
Masonic right of Assembly by Athelstan, but to the Saxon Court-leets,
Shire-motes, Folc-motes, or Hundred Courts of the Sheriffs.
The author of this theory grounds it chiefly upon that part of the MSS.,
which we have already quoted, in regard to the great Lords forming part of the
Masonic Assembly. But such argument
can amount to no more than this, that the writers of these documents attribute
the grant of the right of Masonic Assembly by Athelstan at a meeting of the
Witenagemote; and that the Masonic Assemblies were held, or supposed to be held,
{273} in similar form to the Folcomtes, and they were in fact, a Court of this
nature, confined strictly to Masonic affairs. Probably Athelstan sanctioned the
Masters' "Articles" in a Council of Nobles, and the Masonic Council added the
"Points" to govern Craftsmen.
The nature of the Constitutions, thus alleged to be sanctioned, describe
an organisation which is out of harmony with what we might expect to find in
Norman times, or at any period to which we might assign it after the 12th
century. The Athelstan grant of
Masonic Assembly was held for admitting Fellows, and Passing Masters, whilst, on
the other hand, the French Masons had their "Masters' Fraternities" to which
none were admited without much difficulty. It has also been suggested by Brothers
Speth, Rylands, and Begemann that the Masonic Assemblies may have been held on
the same day as the Witenagemote to assure an appeal to the Sheriff if
necessary.

In
regard to the origin of the poetical Constitution which is termed the "Regius
MS.," there is good reason for believing that it was handed down in rhyme in the
Kingdom of Northumbria until it was committed to writing in some other part of
England; and that it was intended for a Guild or Assembly of Speculative
brethren consisting of Artisans of all descriptions connected with buildings,
and admitting Clerics and Esquires; for moral addresses suited to all these
classes are strung together in the same MS. Dr. Begemann considers from the
language that the copy was made in North Chester, Hereford, or Worcestershire. In other words, it is addressed to, and
for, an Assembly similar to the imitation made by our present Grand Lodges. Charters of privileges were given by the
Norman Bishops of Durham, to a class of people, who must have long existed,
called "Hali-werkfolc"; for the name being Saxon they were clearly pre-Norman
work folk. The late Brother William
Hutchinson, of Barnard Castle, tells us that, in 1775, he had several Charters
alluding to these people, and gives the preamble of one, granted about 1100 by
the then Bishop of Durham, {274} which is addressed to both "Franci et Hali-werk
folc."
This writer believes that the class were Speculative Masons, and he
instances a branch connected with the old Culdee Shrine of St. Cuthbert, and if
his views were accepted, it would give good grounds on which to assume the
connection of this fraternity with the poem.

It is
worthy of note that the Culdee system existed in Scotland for some centuries
after the Norman Conquest, nor does it then seem to have been extinct in
Ireland. The continuation of the name of the Templars in
Scotland ages after its suppression in France, is probably owing to the
continuance of Culdee heresy. The
Monastery of Brechin, as Mr. Cosmo Innes points out, existed in the time of
David I., the promoter of Royal Burghs, 1123-53, and that after the erection of
the Episcopal See, the old Culdee Convent became the electoral chapter of the
new Bishopric; the Abbot of Brechin was secularised, and transmitted to his
children the lands which his predecessors had held for the church; and one of
these, in the time of William the Lion, made a grant of lands to the monks at
Arbroath.<<Quoted in Abbott's "Eccl. Surnames," 1871.>>
Now the seal of Arbroath has a design which has been taken to refer to the
secret Initiation of the Culdees: a priest stands before an altar with a long
staff in his right hand, upon the upper part of which is "IO," the top forming a
cross; before the altar kneels a scantily clothed man with something in his
hand, he might be swearing upon a relic; three other persons are present, of
whom two are brandishing swords. An
antagonistic theory is that the seal represents the murder of Thomas a Beckett. All we will say here is that it is a very
fair representation of the former view, and a very poor one of the latter; and
that, in consonance with the times, it may have a double meaning. Sir James Dalrymple says that the Culdees
kept themselves together in Scotland until the beginning of the 14th century,
and resisted the whole power of the primacy.

"Constitutional Charges."
We will now make a slight {275} examination of what we will call the
Athelstan Constitution, as it appears in the Regius MS., at times quoting the
version of the Cooke MS. The former
includes much ornate comment, which is given more soberly in the latter, but
essentially the two documents are one.
Both consist of two series of Charges for "two Classes," and a final
ordinance. These, in both MSS., are
preceded by a simple history of the mode in which Euclid organised the
fraternity in Egypt, and the regulations by which Athelstan ensured a more
perfect system. The first series of
Charges in the Regius MS. are 15, called ARTICLES, and concern the duties of a
MASTER to his Prentices, Fellows, and their Lords or employers. The second series of Charges are called
POINTS, and arrange the duties of CRAFTSMEN to their Master and to each other.
In the Cooke MS. these "Articles and Points" have exactly the same bearing but
are each divided into 9 in place of 15.
The closing part of the Regius MS. is headed "Other Ordinances," and refers to
the grant of a right of Assembly by Athelstan and the duties it had to
discharge; but a comparison with the Cooke MS. might suggest that this portion
is misplaced and should precede the Articles and Points, though in another point
of view it might be taken to be a later addition, and to prove the much greater
antiquity of the "Regius," as having a history settled before the grant of the
Assembly. In the Cooke MS. the last
thing is Charges to "New Men that never were charged before," which looks like a
more ancient form of the Points, but in the Regius MS. this part constitutes the
closing Points of a Craftsman, and is concluded in a very characteristic way.
It personates Athelstan himself, and is held to have the very ring of the
original grant; and is a record of that King's assent to.all that has been
related: --

"These Statutes that y have hyr y fonde,

Y chulle they ben holde throuzh my londe,

For the worshe of my rygolte

That y have by my dygnyte." {276}

Athelstan built several castles in Northumberland, and there yet exists a family
of the name of Roddam of Roddam who claim their lands under the following
Charter, and there is actually no greater improbability in the one than in the
other: --<<Burke's "Landed Gentry," 1848.>>

"I Konig Athelstane,

giffe heir to Paulane,

Oddiam and Roddam,

als gude and als fair,

als ever ye mine ware,

ann yair to witness Maud my wife."

Following the Regius Constitution we have a later section devoted to moral
duties and etiquette. It begins with
the legend of the "Quatuor Coronati," four "holy martyrs that in this Craft were
of great honour," Masons and sculptors of the best. The church legend relates that they were
Christians who were employed in sculpture, and always wrought with prayer in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ, after signing with the cross, and their skill was
so great that the Philosophers attributed it to the mysterious words of art
magic. Diocletian gave them the
option of worshipping the Pagan gods, which they refused to do, and were put to
death circa 290, and the Catholic Church canonised them as the "Four Crowned
Martyrs." After this they came to be
acknowledged as Patrons of the building trades, and as such are found in the
Strasburg, English, Lombard, and other Constitutions. They are respectively represented with
axe, hammer, mallet, compasses and square; sometimes wearing crowns; at times a
dog is represented with them.

Attached to the Regius Constitutions are two other documents intended to
complete the instruction in moral duties, begun in the legend just related; the
first of them is equally found in a MS. entitled "Instruction to Parish
Priests," and concerns behaviour at church; the closing part of this portion is
found in another MS. termed "Urbanitatis," and refers to the general behaviour
of {277} young persons, whether Artisans or Esquires; MSS. of these two latter
portions, as old as 1450 are found separately, but their actual origin is
unknown, and it is supposed that they may have had Norman originals.
The motto of William of Wykeham was "Manners makyth man," and line 726 has "Gode
maneres maken a mon." Between the
legend of the Four Martyrs and the other documents is a portion which has the
appearance of being imperfect, but which refers to the building of Babylon and
Euclid's tuition in the seven liberal arts and sciences; it is a part of the
matter forming the Preface to the "Book of Charges" in the Cooke MS., so that it
is possible there was a MS., now lost, from which the writers of these two
documents respectively copied additions.
In any case both these MSS. are but copies of older documents, both have
many imperfections attributable to the copyists, and which prove that they were
but copyists.

In both
MSS. again, these Constitutions clearly prove that there was a recognised Euclid
Charge, who is termed "Englet" in the prose copy; that these Charges were
ratified by Athelstan; and the value which the ancient Masons attached to these
Charges is proved by the general agreement which exists between two diverse
documents, treated in a dissimilar manner, and no doubt used in parts distant
from each other. Both documents
equally allude to Masters as a degree of the General or Heptarchial, or
provincial Assembly, both assert that a Congregation might be made every year or
third year, as they would; there is mention also of Elders, and the "principal
of the gathering "; and both equally profess to give the Laws as transmitted
from Egypt, and sanctioned by Athelstan.

The
Regius MS., 12th Point, says that at these Assemblies: --

"Ther schul be maystrys and felows also,

And other grete lordes many mo;

Ther schal be the Scheref of that contre

And also the meyer of that syte,

Knyztes and sqwyres ther schul be,

And other aldermen, as ye schul se." {278}

The prose MS. has it, "if need be, the Scheriffe of the
countie, or the Mayer of the Cyte, or Alderman of the towne in which the
congregacon is holden schall be felaw and sociat of the Master of the
congregacon in helpe of him agenst rebelles." That is the Sheriff and Mayor were to be
called to support the Master's authority.
This prose version also mentions the "Maister who is principal of the
gadering." Also, that "Congregacons
scholde be maide by "Maisters" of all "Maisters Masons" and "Felaus" in the
foresaide art. And so at such congregacons thei that be
mad Masters schall be examined of the Articuls after written and be ransakyed
whether thei be abull and kunnynge to the profyte of the lordys them to serue
and to the honour of the forsaide art."

From
this it is clear, and we shall see it more plainly as we proceed, that after the
accepted Fellow had developed his architectural knowledge it was the province of
the Congregation, Assembly, or Chapter, to examine into his competency for
Mastership, to swear him to his special "Articles," and, according to
traditional custom, to Pass him by a ceremony which gave him certain signs,
tokens, and words, which enabled him to prove his capacity wherever his travels
might carry him. That is to say, not
actually to Install him a Master of Work, but to enable him, as was the main
object of such Tokens, to shew that he was a Passed Master; for the Assembly
considered it to be its duty to see that the Craft and Art of Masonry was not
dishonoured by ignorant pretenders.
In actual practice, both in this country and on the continent, the Master had to
execute an approved task, or piece of work, or "Master piece," as evidence of
his ability. In London in 1356 there
was a dispute of such nature between two classes of Masons, when the very
authorities cited in these Constitutions, namely, the Aldermen, Sheriffs, &c.,
arranged the difficulty by a law that any Mason taking work in contract should
bring "Six or four ancient men of his trade," to testify to his ability to
complete it.
In the laws of the Haupt Hutte of Strasburg, {279) which though of the
15th century must reproduce much older laws, and which resemble our own, it is
enacted that they might be altered by "three or four" masters of work, when met
together in Chapter; and we find that a Craftsman or Fellow, who served but five
years in place of the English seven, could not be made a Parlirer or Foreman
until as a Journeyman he had made one year's tour of the country, in order to
increase his proficiency.
Such duties the Regius MS. gives in Norman-French as "Cure," and later
they are designated Wardens' duties; in Guild Rites sworn officers.

It
would seem from what has passed that originally the Fellows and Masters met
together in Assembly, but the time came when the Masters met by themselves
quarterly, as Findel shows in regard to Germany, whilst the Fellows met monthly. There the Masters' Fraternities were
presided over by an "Old Master," and the Fellows by an "Old Fellow."

In
addition to what has been described it was in the power of the General Assembly
to overlook the Liberal Art of Masonry, regulate it, reward merit, and punish
irregularities. It would also
appoint officers until the next "Gathering," and fix contributions. Brother R. F. Gould has disinterred an
old 16th century reference to the Guild of Minstrels, which alleges that they
had met annually at Beverley, for that purpose, from the day's of King
Athelstan; the similar claims of Masons may be valid, though we have access at
present to no records, to prove that the Masonic Assembly met annually at York,
or elsewhere, beyond what we find in the Laws of the government, and the
assertions of old Masonic MSS.

In the
Regius MS. we have the following account of the divisions of the Society by
Euclid: --

"Mayster y-called so schulde he be."

For: --

"To hym that was herre yn this degre

That he schulde teche the symplyst of wytte."

Again: --

"Uchon schulle calle others felows by cuthe,

For cause they come of ladyes burthe." {280}

Now the Cooke MS. had not to accommodate itself to the
metre, and may be supposed to give the same thing in closer conformity to the
original document. Speaking of the
Constitution granted by Enclid to Egyptians it says: "Bi a serteyn time they
were not all ilike abull to take of the forseyd art. Wherefore the foresayde Maister Englet
ordeynet thei (that) were passing of conynge scholde be passing honoured. And 'ded to call the conynge Maister for
to enforme the lesse of counynge Maisters of the wiche were called Masters of
nobilitie of wytte and conynge of that art.
Nevertheless thei commanded that thei that were lass of witte scholde not
be called seruantes nor sozette but felaus ffor nobilite of their gentylle
blode."

We
learn at least from this that a "dual" system was instituted, which finds its
equivalent in the lesser and greater Mysteries, for what we find similar in
Rites, between these bodies, extends to organisation, and we see it composed of
the noble or Knowing Masters, and the less knowing. Fellows -- craftsmen, or journeymen --
and we begin to see why the Masters' Articles make mention only of that rank,
and the Craftsmens' Points apply only to those subordinate to the Masters. The two MSS. distinctly tell us that both
the Masters and the Prentices were to term the Craftsmen their Fellows. It is evident that the Apprentices had no
call to the Assembly, but we shall soon see what their status actually was.
They may possibly have been sworn in private Lodges of journeymen, and certainly
for about 2 1/2 centuries it has been considered that the Charge of the prose
MS. to "New Men that never were sworn before," referred to them.

The two
MSS. are again in entire conformity in the following Regius extract. The first Article of the Masters' orders
says: --

The
Article, however, goes on to enact that the Master may give a "deserving
Apprentice" higher wages than a less perfect one. Such an one was no doubt at times
accepted in the Assembly before the expiry of his seven years; and there was a
similar custom in the Arcane Schools, for Iamblichus (ci., vi., p. 22) tells us
it was a custom of the Pythagoreans that "the Novitiate of five years was
abridged to those who attained sooner to perfection." It is yet a custom in some countries that
when an Apprentice applies to be made a Fellow Freemason, he requests
"augmentation of salary."

We will
now follow on to that class of Masons who had not been passed as Masters, or who
were employed under a Master of Work.
These rules are called "Points" and here also the poetical and prose MSS.
are in perfect accord. They enforce
Brotherly-love as fully as did the ancient Society of Pythagoras. The first Point says: --

"That whoso wol conne thys craft and come to astate,

He must love wel God, and holy church algate,

And his Master also, that he hys wythe,

Whether it be in fieid or frythe,

And thy felows thou love also."

The third Point enjoins secrecy in regard to all he may
see or hear: --

"The prevyste of the Chamber tell he no mon,

Ny yn the logge whatsoever they done,

Whatsever thou heryst, or syste him do,

Tell it no mon, whersever thou go,

The cownsel of halle, and zeke of bowre,

Kepe hyt wel to gret honoure." {282}

The fourth Point is as conclusive as to degrees as was the
Masters' Articles: --

"Ny no pregedysse he schal not do,

To hys "Mayster," ny his "fellosw" also,

And thazth the "prentis" be under awe."

The seventh Point is a law against unchaste conduct with a
Master's wife, daughter, sister, or concubine, which we mention here because it
assigns a penalty, which confirms what we have said, that a deserving Apprentice
might be made free of his craft before the expiry of seven years, and in this
case it implies a secret or traditional regulation; for the crime specified the
penalty is: --

"The payne thereof let hyt be ser,

That he be prentes full seven zer."

The eighth Point alludes to the duty of a Cure or Warden:
--

"A true medyater thou most nede be,

To thy Mayster and thy felows fre."

The ninth Point concerns Stewards of "our halle," and has
evident reference to the Charges of Euclid with which the MS. commences: --

"Lovelyche to serven uchon othur,

As thawgh they were syster and brother."

The later Points are not numbered as such in the prose
MS., but follow its ninth Point as unnumbered laws. The 12th is of "gret Royalte," and at the
Assembly: --

"Ther schul be Maystrys and felows also,

And other grete lordes many mo."

The fourteenth Point tells us that the Fellow had to be
sworn. As the Assembly had two
series of laws for Masters and Fellows, it is quite evident that they had
authority over two ranks, besides the Apprentice; and hence the Grand Lodge of
England from its revival in 1717, down to 1725, claimed like power over the
degrees of Masters and Fellows, thus treating the majority of the subordinate
bodies as if Apprentice Lodges. This
14th Point says: --

"A good trewe oathe he must there swere,

To hys Mayster and hys felows that ben there." {283}

The fifteenth Point is a Penal law made against the
rebellious and these Statutes close with a confirmation, claiming to be that of
Athelstan.

Now
although it must be admitted that these ancient Constitutions are exoteric in
character, and do not make it a part of their business to settle the work of
degrees, in their esoteric aspect, which it left to the ancient traditional
mode; yet what does appear is in perfect affinity to a similar system of degrees
such as we possess, and with oaths, ceremonials, and secrets for these. As there was an examination, ending in an
Oath, there must of necessity have been some ceremony, and in its proper place
we will give evidence much older than this copy, that the Craft had its secrets,
signs, and watchwords and a president whom they swore to obey. Certificates were not in use at this
early date, and in common with the Arcane Schools these secrets did duty for a
certificate, and proved as well the degree of skill a Mason possessed; in more
ancient times such Rites and symbolic instruction had a higher value than a mere
formula by which to recognise each other.
Apart from trade secrets there was another reason for great secrecy as to
Masonic Rites in the fact that whilst the Christian Emperors of Rome were
destroying the Arcane Schools and hounding them to death, the protection of the
Masonic art was necessary to the glorification of the Church -- and each sought
to protect themselves.

There
is no doubt that these ancient traditional Rites, which were originally the type
of an ancient religion, would vary with circumstances, the convenience of time
and place, and the members of the Lodge.
In the very early times of the Society, the Apprentice had no ceremony, until,
with time, he merited to become a Fellow.
The esoteric Ritual of the Assembly was then dual, but there is evidence
in modern times that the Apprentice was sworn to a Charge. In very extensive buildings where the
Lodge was numerous, -- and we read of some embracing from hundreds to thousands
of workmen; the {284} Apprentice
would be sworn, and the chief Master's Fellows would come to include two
divisions: Some who had been Passed as "Noble Masters" would take employment on
such works as Journeymen, and we should thus find in the same Lodge, sworn
Fellows, and Masters, under a sole Worshipful Master of Work, or the system we
have to-day in our Lodges, but without the ancient technical knowledge.

Though
these Constitutions had other legends tacked on to them in Norman times, and to
which we shall refer in our next chapter, the Anglo-Saxon Masons must have
considered them as the time-immemorial Charter of their privileges, even down to
the 14th century. They were the
authority under which they continued to hold Assemblies, the existence of which
is vouched by the laws which the State made to suppress them.
We have seen that the meetings were held under a president, who had power
to swear Freed-Apprentices or Passed Fellows, and in due course to examine and
pass these as Masters if fully competent. Besides the tokens by which they could
prove their rank, they had a system of Marks to indicate their property and
workmanship; it is alleged there was even a double system, evidenced in this,
that as a Stone Cutter possessed a Mark for his work, and the Master one for his
approval; traces are claimed to exist where, at a later period, the
stone-cutter's Mark comes to be used as the Master's symbol of approbation.
Brother Chetwode Crawley, LL.D., draws attention to this, that during the
centuries when the Masonic Association was in full operation, Arabic numerals
and therefore modern arithmetic was unknown, and calculations could only be made
by aid of the Roman notation; hence the traditions and secret rules of geometry
were all important to the Craft, and made it essential that Masons should be
geometers. Mr. Cox finds that the design or
tracing-boards of various old buildings are grounded upon the five-pointed Star
of Freemasonry, and on the Pythagorean problem of a modern past-Master, with its
ratio of 3, 4, {285} 5, or the multiples thereof as 6, 8, IO, and this was
especially a Guild secret of construction.

The
MSS. upon which we have been commenting represent the best days of the Saxon
Craft; with the Norman Conquest came over French Masons in large numbers; and we
may see between the lines, a subtle struggle between antagonistic systems, and
possibly much of the secrecy of Masonry that existed throughout the centuries
down to 1717, may be owing to this; and to the fact that the Saxon Mason was
assigned a subordinate position.
There can be no doubt that at the comparative late date when these two MSS. were
written there were Masons in various parts who still clung to the Athelstan
constitution. On the other hand the
Anglo-Norman Kings, 1350-60, were passing Ordinances and laws, against "all
alliances, covines, congregations, chapters, ordinances and oaths," amongst
Masons and other artisans. These
laws were endorsed by others in 1368, 1378, 1414, and 1423. They seem, however, to have affected very
little the Masonic Assemblies, and in 1425 a law was passed to specially
prohibit Masons from assembling in Chapters; even this law remained a dead
letter on the Statute book; but it is from about this period that the Saxon
system passes entirely into disuse.
In this contest between the alleged Saxon right of Assembly, and the objections
of the Anglo-Norman rulers to meetings held without a Charter, we see the
necessity that existed for the Masons to submit their Constitutional Charges to
the reigning Sovereigns, as they had been commanded by Athelstan to do, from
King to King; indeed Acts were passed in 1389 and 1439 ordering the officers of
Guilds and Fraternities to show their Patents to the neighbouring Justices for
their approval, but it does not seem clear whether other is meant than the
Chartered Livery Companies.

It has
been previously mentioned that in these two priceless documents which have all
the marks of a genuine Saxon transmission, there is not one word which leads us
to suppose that the members of the Society thus {286} formed had an idea that
their forefathers had wrought at the building of Solomon's temple; and it is
impossible to suppose that if the ceremonies then in use had referred to such a
circumstance all reference thereto would have been omitted from the
Constitution.

The
language in which these documents are couched is Christian, of a liberal but
perfectly orthodox cast. Christian
churches could only be symbolically constructed, with Christian symbolism, by
Masons practising Christian Rites, and the priests would have been ready enough
to burn any Mason that supported the Talmud; we have an instance of this
intolerance in the destruction of the Templars in the year 1310-13. This is a question of simple historical
fact in which we need have no bias either one way or the other. All Masonic tradition is opposed to
uniformity of Rites, and in France, from the earliest times, we find three
opposing schools whose ceremonies may be broadly classed as Trinitarian and
Monotheistic rites.

When we
consider that the Masons of pre-conquest times were not subordinated to those of
France, we should not expect uniform Rites in the two countries and when we
examine the MSS. of the former and the latter it is clear that such did not
exist. In France itself no such uniformity
existed; coming down side by side, shrouded in secrecy for centuries, there
existed three sections denominated the "Compagnonage" formed of artizans
generally and not confined to Masons, and it is altogether an error to suppose
that the most ancient Saxon fraternity was confined to workers in stone, they
included all men who used Geometry in their trade, as the MSS. themselves inform
us. Besides these, at an early
period, probably much earlier but at least co-eval with the Norman conquest of
England, there existed in France Master's fraternities of an essentially
Christian character attached to some church, and to the support of which Fellows
and Apprentices had to contribute.
As a Sodality the Council of Rouen in 1189, and of Avignon {287} 1326,
recorded their disapprobation, against their signs, their oaths, and their
obedience to a President. The
English laws of the Norman Kings followed this prohibition, Scotland followed
suit, and it is not improbable that this circumstance led to the chartering of
Livery Companies in England, and Incorporations in Scotland.

"The
French Sects." The three divisions
of the French Compagnonage became chiefly journeymen, and for a period of over
500 years were in mutual dissension, and at times even at actual war, when many
lives were lost. These are, were,
and still are, -- (1) the "Children of Master Jacques," which is represented in
Anglo-Saxon Christian Masonry; (2) the "Sons of Solomon," classed with our
present system; and it is quite possible they may derive a Semitic system from
Spain in very early times for the Moslems were in possession in the South until
Martel expelled them; (3) the "Children of Father Sonbise "who were chiefly
Carpenters, as many of the most early builders must have been, and whose name is
supposed to have some affinity with Sabazios, one of the names of Bacchus or
Dionysos. Each of these Sections had their own
peculiar ceremonies in which is the drama of an assassination, all somewhat
similar but apparently arranged in such manner as to cast odium on their
opponents. One peculiarity is that the Members
assume the name of some animal, and branches are known as wolves, werewolves,
dogs, foxes, which reminds us of the masks of criminals worn in the religious
Mysteries of Greece and Egypt, and we saw that the sun was compared to a wolf in
the Mysteries of Bacchus. Brother
Gould has expressed an opinion that the Carpenters were the oldest association,
the followers of Jacques the town association, and the Sons of Solomon the
privileged corporations that set out from the Monasteries, after the crusades,
when architecture became a lay occupation.
It is perhaps as probable, though not irreconcilable with thls view, that
the sects arose out of the successive developments of civil, sacred, and
military architecture. Brother {288}
F. F. Schnitger expresses an opinion that the Masons belonging to a "Domus"
(civil) were unfree; those attached to the Castle of a Lord would be "glebae
proscripti" (military); and that it would only be the travelling church Masons
(sacred), free to work anywhere that would be actual Free Masons, and that these
would be likely to have different ceremonies, even if the two first-named were
allowed any.

The
probabilities are exceeding strong in France for the transmission of old Roman
Rites, and the Fraternities would seem to possess traditions or customs common
to the Gnostics and Saracens. Like
the Manichees they reverence the reed and like the Dervish sects they allege the
receipt of a Charge by the act of receiving some particular garment of the
Master; thus one received his Cap, another his Mantle, and a third his girdle;
the same is alleged in the Moslem sects.
It is a rite or claim that has the appearance of derivation, though possibly
from an ancient common source, and would scarcely arise accidentally.

In the
legend of Master Jacques, that personage is slain by the followers of Soubise. The "Sons of Solomon" have a relation in
regard to the death of Hiram, or Adoniram the collector of tribute to Solomon
and Rheoboam, who was slain by the incensed people, and the account relates that
his body was found by a dog; this sect claims a direct Charge from King Solomon
and admits all religions without question in contradistinction to the other
sects which require their members to be orthodox. Perdiguer says of its Initiation, that
"in it are crimes and punishments."

In
reference to the cause of the ill feeling between the sects the legends vary. One account carries back this hostility
to a period when a section placed themselves under the patronage of Jacques de
Molay, Grand Master of Templars 1308-1310, and immediately before the
destruction of that Order by Philip le Bel.
Another account attributes these dissensions to the time of a Jacques
Molar, who is said to be the builder in 1402 of {289} the towers of Orleans
Cathedral; the Sons of Solomon refused to labour with the children of Jacques,
struck work and fled, and the strong arm of the law had to be requisitioned.
It looks like the quarrels of an ordinary trade-union whether occurring in 1308
or 1402. If the Jacques Molar version is
historical it is possible that some of the Sons of Solomon may have left that
Society and joined an already existing fraternity of Jacques, thus adding a
building programme to the many already represented in that fraternity. The traditions would seem to possess the
same reliability as our own Masonic legends; and the one tends to prove the
antiquity of the other; for as the Compagnonage and English Masonry, have each
their ceremonies, degrees, oaths, and tokens of recognition, they have had a
derivation in common, for there has been no alliance between the two at any
period.

In
regard to Rites the "Children of Master Jacques" admit only Roman Catholics, and
say that they "accept Jacques as their mortal father and Christ as their
spiritual father," and adopt the sensible maxim that "whilst Solomon founded
them, other men modified them and that they live under the laws of these last."
We have endeavoured, however imperfectly, to shew what Anglo-Saxon Masonry was,
and consider this system to assimilate with it; and we must bear in mind that
the Continent was much indebted to this country at one time, thus Diocletian
sent Artists from Britain to Gaul, Columban journeyed to Burgundy, Alcuin of
York to the Court of Charlemagne, St. Boniface to Germany.

The
"first step" is termed Attendant or Affiliate, and corresponds to our
Apprentice, he is a young workman, protected and looked after, but considered to
be outside any Mystic Rites as was the Saxon Apprentice.
The "second step" is termed Received Companion; which is equivalent to
the term accepted and the Fellow of the Saxon Assemblies, he has certain secrets
and takes part in a dramatic ceremony of the assassination and burial with
lamentations as in the old Mysteries, of Master {290} Jacques, whose corpse was
discovered supported by reeds.
It is practically a disguised drama of the betrayal of Christ. The "third step" probably points to a
time prior to the establishment of Masters' Fraternities, and corresponds with
the Passed Masters and Harodim of the Guilds; it is termed Finished Companion,
in which the Aspirant passes through a dramatic representation of the passion of
Christ, and this ceremony, as was doubtless the case in old times in England,
rendered and still renders, its possessor eligible for offices of dignity and
honour; and may be classed with the Noble, Knowing, or Worshipful Master which
formed the chief rank of the Saxon congregations, save those who had been the
"Maister who is principal of the gadering." It is curious that the names should agree
so closely with those of the Persian Magi, in the time of Cyrus, which were in
translation, -- Disciple, Master, Complete Master. Two other circumstances point in the same
direction for the descent of this branch of the Society, namely the use of the
reed, and of some article of clothing to confirm a "Charge;" both the Manichees
and the Dervish sects are descendants of the Persian Magi. This ceremony in the grade of Accepted
Companion represents the heroic and pre-Christian anti-type; and as such is
parallel with the Pedestal point of Harodim-Rosy Cross, where the Candidate is
led up a pinnacle and sees a word that is prophetical of what is given in the
degree of Finished Companion which is the explanation and complement of the
anti-type. English Masonry has lost
much by the refinements of the learned, or by those who "imagined themselves to
be learned," and in any case it is easy for such to influence the ignorant.
The French have lacked this in the several sects, and have therefore transmitted
what they received without understanding it.
So have English Stone Masons. There
is a peculiar system of salutation called the Guilbrette, two meet, cross their
wands and embrace; it has its analogue in all Guilds both East and West. {291}

The legends as to the schism, though old and in
writing now, are of course traditional, and cannot be unconditionally accepted.
We learn something of what their ceremonies consisted 250 years ago, as the
Doctors of the Sorbonne examined some traitorous members between 1648-50, and
accused the Compagnonage of profaning the Mystery of Christ's passion and death,
of baptising in derision, of taking new names, using secret watchwords,
obligating to mutual assistance "with other accursed ceremonies."<<Vide Gould's
"Hist. Freemasonry.">>
Much of thls we have seen was common to the Arcane Discipline of the
church, and the Charges read very similar to those made by the Fathers when they
desired to have the Ancient Mysteries suppressed; in the same spirit they have
destroyed all literature that made against themselves and their acts. Almost the same thing might be said by a
fanatic and fool against the old Ancient degrees of Harodim-Rosy Cross in this
country: and it is very noteworthy and "very suggestive" that the ancient oath
of the English Rosy Cross has a penalty, alluding to the Saviour's death which
is absolutely identical with the highest grade of this French fraternity of
Jacques. The French "Fendeurs," or
Charcoal burners, resemble so closely those described by the priests in 1650,
that there can be no doubt both have the same common origin; the Fendeur
Initiation carry their legends back to remote times, and claim a Scottish
origin; possibly it points to a Culdee or other sectarian derivation thence.

"The Salute." Most of the Mystic Sects which derive
from what we term the Arcane Schools, seem to have a "Salute" by way of
recognition, that is, a phrase by way of "Salutation," and this is probably what
Brito-Saxon Masonry possessed, before Semitic legends and Hebrew words were
introduced in Norman times.
This "Greeting" went with the "Word" until it was abandoned last century.
A Christian system that had no allusion to Solomon's temple would have the
"Greeting," and is therefore probably one of the most ancient parts of our
Rites. {292}

Brother
J. G. Findel in his "History of Freemasonry" professes to give the Catechism in
use amongst the Masons of the Haupt Hutte of Strasburg, which termed their
Assemblies Chapters, after the usage of the Benedictines. In the strict sense of the term what is
called "Words" in this ritual is a Greeting. The questioner asks: -- "How many words
has a Mason? Seven. Q. What are
they? God bless all honourable
conduct; God bless all honourable knowledge; God bless the honourable Craft of
Masonry; God bless the honourable Master; God bless the honourable foreman; God
bless the honourable Fraternity; God grant honourable preferment to all Masons
here, and in all places by sea and land."
We have here seven prayers easily remembered; and the following passwords
were elicited by the Questioner: -- "Kaiser Carl II.; Anton Hieronymus; Walkan."
The two last are supposed to be corrupted from Adoniram, and Tubal Cain, the
last named, it may be, through Vulcan.
Professor Robison, who wrote upon German Masonry last century, expresses an
opinion that an Apprentice received an additional word with each year of his
labour. During last century there still remained
old members of the Strasburg Constitution, though it had then lost all its
influence, and there is an interesting statement recorded on the authority of
Mr. Vogel, an old operative Mason, who is reported to have said, in 1785, that
the German Masons consisted of three classes: -- "The Letter Masons," or those
made by Certificate; "The Salute Masons," or those who used a form of Salutation
similar to that just quoted; and "the Freemasons," who he says, "are the
richest, but they work by our word and we by theirs;"<<Gould's "Hist.
Freemasonry," ii, p. 312; also Findel's "Hist. Freem.">> which implies that he
was a "Salute" Mason, and that the "Greeting," and the "Word" were originally
the marks of two distinct sects but had come to be united.
Another writer states, on the authority of a newly received Freemason, who was a
member of the Haupt Hutte systems, that the grip was the same in both societies.
{293}

We may
dismiss the "Certificate" Mason in a few words; in England it corresponds with
trade Freedom granted by Municipal bodies from the time of Queen Elizabeth to
our own days. Our oldest Catechisms
not only include a triplicate "Greeting" but the "Word" system, but we need not
give this until its proper date, and on the evidence we have given it may be
assumed, that in the ancient Masonry of this country the "Salute" was the
"Word," and that upon it was engrafted certain Hebrew words.
As the Saxon system was a Christian one, no doubt its chief grade, or Master's
Fraternity, has descended to us in the degrees of Harod and the Harodim-Rosy
Cross, translated by the French Rose-croix of Heredom, Templar, etc., for all
these grades are very similar; and its transmission is equally probable with the
known transmission for centuries, of the Christ-like ceremonies of the French
fraternity of Jacques, but this we will again refer to in a chapter on the
high-grades.

"Conclusion." As we have
observed several times, but may again repeat, the drama of the Mysteries was of
a spiritual nature designed to teach how man might so conduct his earthly
pilgrimage as to arrive at immortal life, and the Initiate during the
instruction personated a god who was slain and rose again from the dead. It is not difficult to comprehend how
such a symbolic death and rebirth was transformed into the drama of the career
of the Saviour of fallen man. Such a
Rite is in entire accord with what we know of the Culdee Monks and Masons, who
were at York when King Athelstan granted them a Charter, whilst Hiramism is in
discord thereto. We may summarise
the details of this chapter in a few words; they point to the derivation of a
system of trade Mysteries introduced by Greco-Romans into Britain from an
Egyptian source; modified into orthodox Christianity by Culdees who had similar
recondite Mysteries of a spiritual type, and who taught and directed the Guilds
of Artizans during the whole Saxon period; our next Chapter will indicate a
system in consonance with the French "Sons of Solomon."

{294}

CHAPTER IX.

MASONRY IN NORMAN ENGLAND.

WE made mention in our last Chapter of a series of Masonic
legends which are, in some measure, historically opposed to the old Saxon
Constitutions. These first appear in
written documents of about 1450 A.D., but as these are copies of still older
MSS., may well date into the 12th century in this country. There are two old MSS. the laws of which
differ in essential points: in the elder or "Cooke MS." those legends which
imply a Semitic origin and actually represent our present Craft Rites, form the
Preface, or Commentary, to an actual Saxon Charge; whilst the later, or "Wm.
Watson MS," is a copy of a much older document, and itself over two centuries
old, is complete in itself, with a modified series of charges: the second part
might belong to a "Guild" which had a traditional preference to a Saxon
Constitution, and the first to a later compiler, one who had accepted the Norman
system, and its Rites. We will endeavour in this Chapter to
supply such reliable information, as can be gathered, to account for the legends
superimposed upon the older.

It is
in Norman times, adding French details, that this matter shews itself, and as
there is yet no established view on the subject, it may be examined in various
aspects. In the first place these
legends may have been fixed in France by the conquests which the Saracens made
in that country; or 2ndly, they may have reached that country through the
Moorish conquests in Spain; or 3rdly, and a probable view, they might have been
brought {295} from the East, by those Masons who returned in the train of the
Crusaders; lastly, but upon this we place small credence, some of our able
critics have held that the Oriental legends are collected from books of general
history by the first compiler of this version of the Charges, though admitting
that the author had old Masonic Charges to guide him.

A very
elaborate paper, which may be classed with the first of these views, has been
written by Brother C. C. Howard, of Picton, New Zealand, and he relies upon the
fact that this new Charge draws its inspiration from Roman Verulam and the
erection of St. Albans by Offa, King of Mercia, circa 793, and that one Namas
Graecus, under various spellings, is given as the teacher of Masonry in France. Offa is supposed, by Brother Howard, to
have brought Masons from Nismes, or Nimes, in Southern France, for the purpose
in view, hence the derivation of Namas Graecus.

A
theory such as that of Brother Howard would well account for all that is
peculiar in this Constitution. The
present Nimes is a very ancient Greco-Roman town, and has perfect remains of the
work of their architects; moreover it was for two centuries in the hands of the
Saracens, until Charles Martel, who was the traditional patron of French Masons
and the Hammer of the Saracens, drove them out of that town, and may then have
appointed a Duke or prince to rule it.
The "Cooke MS" like the Strasburg Statutes speak of Charles II., but this
is an error, and it is noteworthy that the "Charges of David and Solomon," are
invariably united with the French patronage, proving that we derive these
Masonic views from French sources. At whatever date these Constitutions
first appeared in this country they eventually superseded the English version.

The
Saracens were large builders in the East, and even the Mausoleum of Theodric of
Ravenna, erected in the 6th century, is considered by de Vogue to be the work of
Syrian Masons brought forward by Byzantines.
It is {296} said that about the year 693 they assembled 12,000 stonecutters to
build the great Alamya at Damascus.<<Condes "Arabs in Spain.">>
The Tulun Mosque at Cairo which was built in the 9th century, has all the main
features of Gothic styles, and the same race erected numerous magnificent works
in Spain. Gibbon informs us that between 813-33 the
Moors brought into Spain all the literature which they could obtain in
Constantinople, and that between 912-61 the most celebrated architects were
invited from thence. We learn from a
catalogue of the Escuriel library that they possessed 70 public libraries, and
that the MSS. handed down includes translations from Greek and Latin and Arabic
writers on philosophy, philology, jurisprudence, theology, mysticism, talismans,
divination, agriculture, and other arts. They gave us astronomy, alchemy,
arithmetic, algebra, Greek philosophy, paper-making, the pendulum, the mariners'
compass, and our first notions of chivalry, and armed-fraternities. Whether they gave us Gothic architecture
may be doubtful but the durability of their own buildings is astounding, and
Cordova, the seat of empire, covered a space 24 miles by 6 miles, even in the
8th and 9th centuries, and was filled with magnificent palaces and public
edifices. Roger Bacon probably
derived gunpowder through their intermediary.

It is
possible that Syrian fraternities of Masons continued to exist until its
invasion by the Saracens, and they themselves, as we have seen, had secret
fraternities analogous to Freemasonry, and as the Koran accepts the history of
the Jewish Patriarchs such a system as we now possess is in accord with their
feelings, and might possibly be acceptable to a French fraternity who were
Christians and had derived building instructions from a Moslem race. If the Saracenic theory in regard to
Nismes is inadmissable, or the derivation of the French Charges under Norman
introduction, when the system had consolidated under the "Sons of Solomon;"
there are two other views we may notice. The possibility of a derivation from the
{297} Spanish Moors; or through the Crusaders who returned from Palestine after
erecting endless works with the assistance of the native Masons. Neither of these two views will account
fully for the fact that the "Constitutions" of the period of this Chapter
connect the Charges of David and Solomon with the Namas Graecus "who had been at
the building of Solomon's temple," with Charles Martel, or even Charles II.
But this is not a great difficulty, for Namas does not appear until circa 1525,
and was always a trouble to the Copyists, sometimes he is Namas, at others he is
Aymon, or the man with a Greek name, and on one occasion he is Grenaeus. Again building, in Europe, was a clerical
art down to the 12th century and laymen were subject to them; but the religion
of the Saracens was of a different cast, and admitted from the very first, of
the continuance of independent schools of Architecture attached to no
Sheik-ul-Islam, Mollah, or Dervish.
On the whole we seem to be led by these considerations to the Norman-French
introduction into this country of a species of Masonic rules, rites, and legends
which existed in Southern France, and which were still further influenced in the
13th century by Masons from the East; but the reader can judge of this upon
reading all the facts.

When
Abdur-Rahman built the great Mosque of Cordova in the short space of ten years,
he said, -- "Let us raise to Allah a Jamma Musjid which shall surpass the temple
raised by Sulieman himself at Jerusalem." This is the oldest comparison which we
have of Solomon's erection as compared with mediaeval erections, and coming from
a Moslem is eminently suggestive.
Some 30 years ago Bro. Viner Bedolphe brought forward some cogent arguments to
prove that though our Craft Masonry had been derived from the Roman Colleges the
3rd Degree of Modern Masonry had been added, in its second half, by Moslems. But as a matter of fact the existing
Jewish Guilds have a ceremony from which our Modern 3rd Degree is derived
through the ancient Guilds, and it is quite possible that the work {298} men of
Abdur-Rahman found it of old date in Spain, as we shall see later; and that a
Guild of them was employed at Cordova.
Mecca has had for ages a semi-Masonic Society which claims its derivation from
the Koreish who were Guardians of the Kaaba; namely, the Benai Ibraham. For some hundreds of years our
Constitutions have asserted that Nimrod was a Grand Master and gave the Masons a
Charge which we still follow. Its
first degree is the "Builders of Babylon," and is directed
against Nimrod and his idols, and against idolatry in general. Its second degree is the "Brothers of the
Pyramids," and teaches, as do our own Constitutions, that Abraham taught the
Egyptians geometry, and the mode of building the pyramids. The third degree is "Builders of the
Kaaba," in which the three Grand Master Masons Ibrahim, Ishmael, and Isaque,
erect the first Kaaba, on the foundations of the temple erected by Seth on the
plans of his father Adam. At the
completion of the Kaaba, the twelve chiefs or Assistants of the "three" Grand
Masters are created Princes of Arabia. The Society was clearly ancient in A.D.
600 as al Koran alludes to the legendary basis on which it is formed.

There
is a very interesting French romance of the 12th century by Huon de Villeneuve
which seems to have a bearing upon the names of our old Masonic MSS., or at
least on a corrupt version of them; and which moreover commemorates the Masonic
death of a person who is supposed to have battled with the Saracens in France
and Palestine. Either the work may
veil legends of the Compagnonage, or, with less probability, these latter may
have drawn something from it. This
romance is entitled "Les Qualre Fils Aymon."
Charlemagne returns victorious from a long and bloody war against the
Saracens in Easter, 768, and has to listen to accusations against Prince Aymon
of the Ardennes, for failing to perform his fealty in not warring against the
Saracens. Charlemagne has as
colleagues Solomon of Bretagne, and his trusty friend the Duke of Naismes. Renaud, Allard, Guichard, and {299}
Richard, the "four sons of Aymon," depart from the Court in quest of adventure.
They defeat Bourgons the Saracen chief before Bordeaux, cause him to become a
Christian, and after that restore Yon, King of Aquitaine, to his throne;
Renaud marries his daughter Laura and erects the Castle of Montauban.
Yon fears the anger of Charlemagne, persuades the four Aymons to solicit his
grace, and they set out "with olive branches in their hands," but are
treacherously waylaid by their enemies, and would have been slain but for the
arrival of their cousin Maugis, and the "cyprus was changed for the palm." Richard is taken prisoner, and condemned
to death, but Maugis disguises himself as a Pilgrim, hangs the executioner,
carries off Richard, and also the golden crown and sceptre of Charlemagne, who
thereupon resolves to attack Montauban.
After a due amount of battles, peace is restored on condition that Renaud
departs on a pilgrimage to Palestine.
On arrival there he is surprised to meet Maugis, and between them they
restore the old Christian King of Jerusalem to the throne. After an interval Renaud is recalled to
France and on his arrival finds his wife dead of grief, as well as his aged
father Aymon and his mother. His old
antagonists -- Naismes, Oger, and Roland have been slain at Ronciveux. Five years later Charlemagne visits
Aix-la-Chapel, with the three brothers Aymon and their two nephews, and the
following is a literal translation of what occurred: "'Hollo! says the Emperor,
to a good woman, what means this crowd?' The peasant answered, -- 'I come from
the village of Crosne, where died two days ago a holy hermit who was tall and
strong as a giant. He proposed to
assist the Masons to construct at Cologne the Church of St. Peter; he manoeuvred
so well that the others who were jealous of his ability, killed him in the night
time whilst he slept, and threw his body into the Rhine, but it floated, covered
with light. On the arrival of the
bishop the body was exposed in the Nave, with uncovered face that it might be
recognised. Behold what it is that
draws the {300} crowd.'"
The Emperor approached and beheld Renaud of Montauban, and the three
Aymons, and two sons of Renaud, mingled their tears over the corpse. Then the bishop said: -- Console
yourselves! He for whom you grieve has conquered the
immortal palm." The Emperor ordered
"a magnificent funeral and a rich tomb." In the translation of Caxton it is the
bishop who does this and also Canonises him as "St. Renaude the Marter."
In the time of Charlemagne, and even much later, there existed a great number of
pre-Christian and Gnostic rites, and the Emperor is credited with reforming, or
establishing, in Saxony, the country of Aymon, whose memory was held in great
veneration even down to the 19th century, a secret fraternity for the
suppression of Paganism, which has most of the forms of Modern Freemasonry. Hargrave Jennings holds that the
fleur-de-lis may be traced through the bees of Charlemagne to the Scarab of
Egypt, and is again found on the Tiaras of the gods of Egypt and Chaldea. After the Culdee Alcuin had assisted in
building the Church of St. Peter at York, he went over to France, and became a
great favourite at Court, having the instruction of the Emperor himself whom he
terms a builder "by the Art of the Most Wise Solomon," who made him an Abbot.
Apart from the significance of this romance in a Masonic sense, which appears to
have drawn on existing Masonry, there are some peculiar correspondences. The body of Osiris was thrown into the
Nile, that of Renaud into the Rhine.
The address of the bishop to the mourners is almost identical with that of the
old Hierophants to the mourners for the slain sun-god. As before stated the "branch" varied in
the Mysteries, as the erica, the ivy, the palm, the laurel, the golden-bough.
As in the case of the substituted victim for Richard the Moslems held that a
substitute was made for Jesus. The
romance confuses the time of Charlemagne, if we accept it literally, with that
of a Christian King of Jerusalem, as the Masonic MSS. confuse the date of
Charles of France with an apocryphal Aymon who was at the building {301} of
Solomon's temple. Possibly the Masons confused the Temple
of Solomon with that existing one which Cardinal Vitry and Maundeville inform us
was "called the Temple of Solomon to distinguish the temple of the Chivalry from
that of Christ;" they allude of course to the house of the Knights Templars.
These legends may well represent some ancient tradition, and we know not what
MSS. have perished during the centuries.
A curiously veiled pagan Mythology may be traced in Paris; comparing St. Denis
to Dionysos. The death of St. Denis takes place on
Montmartre, that of Dionysos on Mount Parnassus; the remains of Denis are
collected by holy women who consign them with lamentations to a tomb over which
the beautiful Abbey was erected; but he rises from his tomb like Dionysos, and
replacing his severed head walks away.
Over the southern gate of the Abbey is also sculptured a sprig of the
vine laden with grapes which was a Dionysian symbol, and at the feet of the
Saint, in other parts, the panther is represented, whose skin was in use in the
Rites of the Mysteries.

Other
attempts to identify Namas Graecus may be given.
Brother Robert H. Murdock, Major R.A., considers that this person is the
Marcus Graecus from whose MS. Bacon admits in "De Nullitate Magiae," 1216, that
he derived the composition of gunpowder. There is one old MS. in the early days of
the Grand Lodge that has adopted this view.
Here again we run against the Saracens, for Duten shews that the Brahmins
were acquainted with powder from whom it passed to the Lulli or Gypsies of
Babylon, the Greeks and Saracens, and it is thought to have been used by the
Arabs at the siege of Mecca in 690; again Peter Mexia shews that in 1343 the
Moors used explosive shells against Alphonso XII. of Castile, and a little later
the Gypsies were expert in making the heavy guns. Very little is known of Marcus Graecus
but early in the 9th century his writings are, erroneously, supposed to be
mentioned by the Arabian physician Mesue.<<The "Cyclo. of" Eph. Chambers, art.
"Gunpowder.">> {302} The acceptance of Marcus of gunpowder notoriety as
identical with Namas or Marcus of Masonic notoriety, necessitates one of two
suppositions: (1) either he was the instructor, or believed to be so, of Charles
Martel in Military erections; or (2) the fraternity of Masons had a branch
devoted to the study of Alchemy and the hidden things of nature and science:
much might he said in its favor, but unless there was some MS. of a much earlier
date that mentions Namas or Marcus, and is missing, the introduction is probably
only of the 16th century when Masons were actually Students of Masonry and the
secret sciences. Another theory has been propounded by
Brother Klein, F.R.S., the eminent P.M. of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge, namely
that Haroun al Raschid's son the Caliph al Mamun is "the man with a Greek name."
He shews that in the time of this Caliph the books of Euclid were translated
into Arabic for the Colleges of Cordova, and it was not until the 12th century
that Abelard of Bath rendered them into Latin.
The original Greek MS. was lost for 700 years when it was found by Simon
Grynaeus, a Suabian and co-labourer of Melancthon and Luther.
In 1530 he gave the MS. to the world, and we actually find that in some of our
MSS. Graecus is transformed into Green, Grenenois, Grenus, Graneus. Caxton printed the "Four Sons of Aymon"
in the 15th century, and we find some scribes transforming Namas into Aymon.
Here we have a later attempt to identify the personality mentioned; he was a man
of whom nobody knew anything, and each scribe sought to develop his own idea, if
he had any.

Charlemagne was a contemporary of the Haroun al Raschid here mentioned who sent
him a sapphire ornament and chain by his ambassador.

Green
in his "Short History of the English People" (London, 1876) says: -- "A Jewish
medical school seems to have existed at Oxford; Abelard of Bath brought back a
knowledge of Mathematics from Cordova; Roger Bacon himself studied under the
English Rabbis" (page {303} 83).
Bacon himself writes: "I have caused youths to be instructed in
languages, geometry, arithmetic, the construction of tables and instruments, and
many needful things besides."
The great work of this mendicant Friar of the Order of St. Francis, the
"Opus Majus," is a reform of the methods of philosophy: "But from grammar he
passes to mathematics, from mathematics to experimental philosophy.
Under the name of Mathematics was enclosed all the physical science of the
time."

It is
beyond doubt that after the Norman conquest in 1066 the predominant genius of
Masonry was French; the oversight and the design were French, the labour
Anglo-Saxon; but the latter were strong enough as shewn, by an eminent
architect, to transmit their own style in combination with that of the French. It must also be borne in mind that if the
English towns have some claims to Roman succession, that feature is doubly
strong in France, even to the language.
Long after the conquest of the country by the Franks, and even until
modern times, the people were allowed to continue Roman laws, privileges,
colleges, and Guilds; pure Roman architecture exists to this day, and notably at
Nimes. Lodges, though not perhaps
under that name, must have existed from the earliest times, for we find that in
the 12th century, the Craft was divided into three divisions; we may even say
four, for besides the Passed Masters Associations, there were Apprentices,
Companions or Journeymen, and perpetual Companions, or a class who were neither
allowed to take an Apprentice, or to begin business as Masters; that is they
could employ themselves only on inferior work.
The eminent historian of Masonry, Brother R. F. Gould, shews this, and
also that the so-called "Fraternities" of France were the Masters' Associations,
but that the Companions and Apprentices had to contribute to the funds that were
necessary for their maintenance. The qualification necessary to obtain
Membership of this Association was the execution of a Master-piece, which was
made as expensive as possible, {304} in order to keep down the number of
Masters. It will be seen at once
that this is a very different organisation to the Constitution of the Assemblies
of our last Chapter, and the reader must keep this distinction in mind, as well
as the fact that there came over to this country a class of men impressed with
these discordant views.

It
would extend far beyond the scope of this book to give more than a very slight
account of the numerous Abbeys, Monasteries, Churches and Castles which were
erected after the Norman conquest; it is, however, necessary, in our inquiry
after the Speculative element, to say something of these, and of the persons who
erected them. Doctor James Anderson
states that King William the Bastard employed Gundulf, bishop of Rochester, and
Earl Roger de Montgomery in building, or extending, the Tower of London, Castles
of Dover, Exeter, Winchester, Warwick, Hereford, Stafford, York, Durham,
Newcastle, also Battle Abbey, St. Saviour's in Southwark, and ninety other pious
houses; whilst others built forty two such, and five cathedrals. Battle Abbey was in building 1067-90, the
architect being a Norman Monk who was a noted arrow-head maker and therefore
named William the Faber, or Smith.
Between 1070-1130 Canterbury Cathedral was in course of erection. In 1076 Archbishop Thomas began the
re-erection of the Cathedral of York, which had previously been burnt in contest
with the Normans. Between 1079-93,
Winchester Cathedral was in progress.
The White or Square tower on the Thames is of this period and Jennings mentions
one of the main pillars which has a valute on one side, and a horn on the other,
which he considers to have the same significance as the two pillars of Solomon's
temple, that is symbolising male and female.
It is evident that Masons must have now been in great demand and that whether
Saxon or Norman were sure of employment; the following are of interest, and as
we meet with any particulars, which have a distinct bearing upon the Masonic
organisation, we will give them. {305}

The New
Castle, whence the name of that town is taken, was built by a son of the
Bastard, and thenceforth became, as in Roman times, a place of great strength,
and also the chief home of the Monastic Orders, for Benedictines, Augustinians,
Carmelites, Franciscans, Hospitallers of St. John, and Nuns all built houses
here, and their conventual buildings within its walls, and many an Hospitium for
wayfarers, many Guilds, and many a chapel of black, white and grey Friars were
founded. The Percys had a town
residence here in the narrow street called the Close.

In 1074
Lincoln Cathedral was begun by Remgius Foschamp, the Norman Bishop, who had it
ready for consecration in 8 years.
It was destroyed by fire in 1141, but Bishop Alexander restored it to more than
its former beauty. Where the Castle
now stands existed an ancient fortress which the Bastard converted into a Norman
stronghold.

In 1077
Robert the Cementarius, or Mason, had a grant of lands in reward for his skill
in restoring St. Albans; and we may find in this circumstance the origin of the
St. Alban Charge combined with that of Charles Martel and David and Solomon;
including the Norman fiction that St. Alban had for his Masonic instructor St.
Amphabel out of France. We say
fiction because Britain at that day sent Masons to Gaul.

In
Yorkshire a Godifried the Master-builder witnesses the Whitby Charter of
Uchtred, the son of Gospatric. These
are Danish names and the Marks of Yorkshire Masons, in this and the following
century, are strong in the use of letters of the Runic or Scandinavian alphabet.

Baldwin, Abbot of St. Edmund's began a church in 1066 which was consecrated in
1095. Hermannus the Monk, compares it in
magnificence to Solomon's temple, which is the first Masonic reference we have
to that structure, and in Norman times.

Paine
Peverell, a bastard son of the King, built a small round church at Cambridge
which was consecrated in {306} 1101, this form being a model of the Holy
Sepulchre at Jerusalem. He also
began a castle in Derbyshire, on a peak inaccessible on three sides one of which
overlooks the Peak Cavern, which Faber supposes was used in the Druidical
Mysteries.

A round
church was erected at this period in Northampton, probably by Simon de St. Luz. An ancient sun-dial is built into its
walls; the tooling of the building is Saxon chevron style, in contradistinction
from the Norman diagonal axe work.

There
is a curiously mystic monument at Brent Pelham to Piers Shonke, who died in
1086. Weever calls it "a stone
whereon is figured a man, and about him an eagle, a lion, and a bull, having all
wings, and an angell as if they would represent the four evangelists; under the
feet of the man is a cross fleuree."
We must not hastily confound these emblems with the present quartering in
the Arms of Freemasons.

During
the reign of Rufus the great palace of Westminster was built, and thirty pious
houses. In 1089 the King laid the
foundation of St. Mary's Abbey at York.
In the same year the Bishop of Hereford laid the foundation of the Gothic
cathedral at Gloucester, and it was consecrated in 1100. In 1093 William of Karilipho, Bishop of
Durham, laid the foundation of his cathedral, in the presence of Malcolm King of
Scots and Prior Turgot. Surtees says
that it "was on a plan which he had brought with him from France." In the same year the church of the old
Culdee settlement of Lindisfarne was erected, and Edward, a monk of Durham,
acted as architect.

In 1093
Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, sent for Anselme, Abbot of Bec, "by his conseile to
build the Abbey of St. Werberg at Chester." It contains an old pulpit of black oak
which is full of heraldic carving which has been mistaken for Masonic
emblems.<<Past Grand blaster Smith, U.S.A.>> It was in this Monastery {307} that Ralph
Higden compiled the Polychronicon, a history often referred to in the "Cooke
MS."

The
work of Durham Cathedral was continued by Bishop Ranulf de Flambard from 1104
and completed before the year 1129.
Under Bishop William de Carilofe the grant which Waltheof, Earl of
Northumberland, had made to the See of Durham was confirmed, of the Priory of
Teignmouth to the Church of Jarrow, which was built by Benedict Biscop in 689
and of Wearmouth 8 years later. Also
Robert de Mowbray brought monks from St. Albans to rebuild the Priory Church,
which was completed in 1110.
Anything connected with these Northern provinces is Masonically important, for
Northumberland and Durham had many Operative Lodges long prior to the G.L. of
1717, and any legitimacy which that body can have it owes to those Northern
Lodges, which eventually joined its ranks.

Northumberland is studded with fortified piles or towers and fortified vicarages
which must have given much employment to Masons.
Elsden possessed one of these and also two folc-mote hills, where in old
time, justice was administered in the open air, as in the Vehm of Westphalia,
dating back one thousand years.

Oswold
the good Bishop of Salisbury built the Church of St. Nicholas at Newcastle about
the year 1004. In 1115 Henry I. made
grants to the Canons regular of Carlisle.
Many parts of the Church of St. Andrew are earlier than St. Nicholas, but its
erection is of later date.

The
Church of St. Mary, Beverley, is supposed to have had upon its site, a Chapel of
Ease dedicated to St. Martin by Archbishop Thurston, of York, between 1114-42;
it is certain, however, that it was constituted a Vicarage of St. Mary in 1325. The Nave was built about 1450, and
consists of six bays and seven clerestory windows, but in 1530 the upper part of
the central tower fell upon the Nave with much loss of life. Its pillar was erected by the Guild of
Minstrels, which like that of the Masons, claimed to date from Saxon times; it
has upon the fluted {308} cornishes five figures of the Minstrels with their
instruments, of which only two respectively with guitar and pipe are intact; and
stands on the north side facing the pulpit.
The "Misere" stalls in the chancel are of the 15th century, with carved
bas reliefs under the seats; one of these represents a "fox" shot through the
body with a woodman's arrow, and a "monkey" approaching with a bottle of physic.

In
regard to symbolism Brother George Oliver, D.D., mentions an old church at
Chester, which he does not name, containing the double equilateral triangles;
also the same in the window of Lichfield Cathedral.
Mr. Goodwin states that the triple triangles interlaced may be seen in the tower
of a church in Sussex. We are now
approaching the period of the Crusades, and it may be noticed that Cluny and
other great French Abbeys are usually considered the centres of action whence
proceeded the builders that accompanied the armies of the cross to Palestine.
Here an enormous number of buildings were erected, between 1148-89, in which
Europeans directed native workmen, and in which the former learned a lighter
style of architecture which resulted in pointed Gothic; a style which had early
existence in the East, for Professor T. Hayter Lewis points out that the 9th
century Mosque at Tulun in Cairo has every arch pointed, every pier squared, and
every capital enriched with leaf ornament; this style the returned Masons began
to construct and superintend in the West.

Mr.
Wyatt Papworth mentions that a Bishop of Utrecht in 1199 obtained the "Arcanum
Magisterium" in laying the foundation of a church, and that he was slain by a
Master Mason whose son had betrayed the secret to the Bishop. About this time was begun the old church
at Brownsover, near Rugby; when it was restored in 1876 two skeletons were found
under the north and south walls, in spaces cut out of the solid clay, and
covered over with the oakblocks of two carpenters' benches. A similar discovery was made in
Holsworthy parish church in 1885; {309} in this case the skeleton had a mass of
mortar over the mouth, and the stones were huddled about the corpse as if to
hastily cover it over. There is no
doubt that in this and many other cases the victims were buried alive as a
sacrifice.<<"Builders' Rites and Ceremonies," G. W Speth,

1894.>> They
are instances in proof of a widespread and ancient belief of a living sacrifice
being necessary.

King
Henry I., 1100-35, built the palaces of Woodstock and Oxford, and fourteen pious
houses, whilst others built one hundred such, besides castles and mansions. The Bishop of Durham confirmed and
granted privileges to the Hali-werk-folc who would be Saxon artificers.

In 1113
Joffred, Abbot of Croyland, laid the foundation of that Abbey; about 22 stones
were laid by Patrons, who gave money or lands.
Arnold is described as "a lay brother, of the art of Masonry a most
scientific Master." About this time,
or a little earlier, the seven Liberal Arts and Sciences are designated the
"Trivium" and "Quadrivium," and the Chronicler gives us the following
illustration of the first division: -- "During this time Odo read lessons in
"Grammar" to the younger sort, Terrick Logic to the elder students at noon; and
William "Rhetoric" in the afternoon; whilst Gilbert preached every Sunday, in
different churches, in French and Latin against the Jews, and on holiday
evenings explained the Scriptures to the learned and clergy."
In Essex's Bibliotheca Topographia, 1783 (vol. iv.) we find it stated that the
builders of this portion cut rudely at the west end of the south aisle, a pair
of compasses, a lewis, and two circular figures, which, he supposes, are
intended for sun and moon; in 1427, however, there were repairs in progress, not
of this part, but in the west and north aisles.
This Abbey possessed a library of 900 books, and save that Joffrid, or
Gilbert, exhibited so much animosity against the Jews, is so consonant with the
first part of the "Cooke MS." that we might have taken it as a proof that the
Semitic Rites existed in 1113.
They probably did in France and parts of Spain. The bronze candelabrum of {310}
Gloucester was made in 1115, and has the double triangles and much other Masonic
symbolism; it is of Byzantine design and approximates to old Egyptian work and
symbolism.

King
Stephen, 1135-54, employed Gilbert de Clare to build four Abbeys, two Nunneries,
and the Church of St. Stephen at Westminster, whilst others built about ninety
pious houses. Jesus College at
Cambridge was founded in this reign, and a very remarkable church was erected at
Adel near Leeds. It is recorded of a
soldier of King Stephen, named Owen or Tyndal, that he received a species of
religious Initiation at the Culdee Monastery in Donegal, placed in a "pastos" of
the cell; he then went on a pilgrimage to the Holy-land, and on his return, as
has been recorded of Renaud of Montauban, assisted in building the Abbey of
Bosmagovsich. The Marks of
Birkenhead Priory of this date have been collected and printed by Brother W. H.
Rylands, also those of St. John's Church in Chester, the Cathedral, Chester, and
the walls, some of which are Roman work.<<"Ars Quat. Cor.," 1894.>>

In 1147
Henry de Lacy laid the foundation of Kirkstall Abbey in Yorkshire; it is of
pointed Gothic. Roche Abbey was
built between this date and 1186, and these two are believed to be by the same
architect. Rivaulx and Fountains
Abbey were begun in 1199 and 1200.
At this time Adam, a Monk of Fountains Abbey, and previously of Whitby, was
celebrated for his knowledge of Gothic architecture, and officiated at the
building of the Abbeys of Meux, Woburn, and Kirkstede; it is not said whether he
was lay or cleric. York Cathedral
was again destroyed by fire in 1137, and Archbishop Roger began to re-erect it
in 1154.

In
Normandy the Guilds were travelling about like those of England and were of
importance in 1145, and had a Guild union when they went to Chartres. At this time Huges, Archbishop of Rouen,
wrote to Theodric of Amiens informing him that numerous organised companies
{311} of Masons resorted thither under the headship of a Chief designated
Prince, and that the same companies on their return are reported by Haimon, Abbe
of St. Pierre sur Dive, to have restored a great number of churches in Rouen.

The
Priory of St. Mary in Furness was commenced by Benedictines from Savigney. In 1179 the Priory of Lannercost was
founded by Robert de Vallibus, Baron of Gillesland.
Bishop Hugh de Pudsey rebuilt the Norman Castle of Durham, dating from
1092 to 1174. Between 1153-94 this
Prelate was the great Transitional Builder of the north, and he began the
erection of a new church at Darlington in 1180 on the site of an old Saxon one.
The great Hall of the Castle of Durham
was the work of Bishop Hadfield in the reign of Richard III. on an older Norman
one.

Henry
II. between 1154-89 built ten pious houses, whilst others built one hundred
such. It is the era of the advent of
the "transitional Gothic." In the
first year of this King's reign, 1155, the "Poor Fellow Soldiers of Jesus
Christ, and of the Temple of Solomon," began to build their Temple in Fleet
Street, London, and continued at work till 1190. It is a round church in pointed Gothic to
which a rectangular one was added later.
By Papal Bull of 1162 these Knights were declared free of all tithes and
imposts in respect of their movables and immovables, and their serving brethren
had like favours, indulgences, and Apostolic blessings. James of Vitry says that they had a very
spacious house in Jerusalem, which was known as the Temple of Solomon to
distinguish the Temple of the Chivalry from the Temple of the Lord. In the Rule which Bernard, Abbot of
Clairvaux, drew up for them, he speaks of the poverty of the Knights, and says
of their house that it could not rival the "world renowned temple of Solomon";
in chapter xxx., he again speaks of the poverty of the house of God, and of the
temple of Solomon."
As a fraternity he designates them "valiant Maccabees." Sir John Maundeville visited the house,
and {312} speaks of it in 1356 thus: "Near the temple [of Christ] on the south
is the Temple of Solomon, which is very fair and well polished, and in that
temple dwell the Knights of the Temple, called Templars, and that was the
foundation of their order, so that Knights dwelt there, and Canons Regular in
the temple of our Lord." As Masonic
symbolism is found in their Preceptories, this would be a channel from which to
deduce both our Solomonic legends, and the alleged Papal bulls, which Sir
William Dugdale asserted were granted to travelling Freemasons; but this view
has never met with favour from Masonic historians, who aim chiefly at writing
things agreeable to their patrons and rulers.
Brother Oliver states that the high altar has the double triangles, at
any rate these appear on the modern embroidered cover; there is the anchor of
the Virgin, also the Beauseant of black and white, which Vitry interprets that
they are fair to their friends but black to their enemies, but Jennings says:
"This grandly mystic banner is Gnostic, and refers to the mystic Egyptian
apothegm that light proceeded from darkness." He further mentions these symbols in the
spandrels of the arches of the long church -- the Beauseant; paschal lamb on a
red cross; the lamb with the red cross standard triple cloven; a prolonged cross
issuing out of a crescent moon, having a star on each side. The arches abound with stars, from which
issue wavy or crooked flames; the winged horse, white, on a red field, is one of
their badges. He adds that there is
a wealth of meaning in every curve of the tombs, which appear in the circular
portion.

Ireland
has many works erected during this period, and Mr. Street says of them: "I find
in these buildings the most unmistakable traces of their having been erected by
the same men, who were engaged at the same time, in England and Wales."
The same remark will apply to Scotland.

The
ancient Preceptory of the Temple at Paris contained (says "Atlanta" xi. p. 337)
"24 columns of silver {313} which supported the audience chamber of the Grand
Master, and the Chapel hall paved in Mosaic and enriched by woodwork of cedar of
Lebanon, contained sixty huge vauses of gold." The fortress was partially destroyed in
1779.

Batissier in his Elements of Archaeology (Paris, 1843), says that the name
"Magister de Lapidibus vivis" was given in the middle ages to the Chief artist
of a confraternity -- Master of living stones.
Or the person was simply termed "Magister Lapidum," and he refers on both
these points to some statutes of the Corporation of Sculptors quoted by Father
de la Valle. For the origin of the
first of these terms consult the Apocryphal books of Hermas, but the term has
more in it than appears on the surface, for in Guild ceremonial the candidate
had to undergo the same treatment as the stone, wrought from the rough to the
perfect. Amateurs were received, for
the 1260 "Charte Octroyie" is quoted by the Bishop of Bale thus: "The same
conditions apply to those who do not belong the "Metier," and who desire to
enter the Fraternity."

A
Priory of the Clunic order of Monks was founded in 1161 at Dudley by Gervase
Pagnel, and they had others at Lewes, Castleacre, and Bermondsey.

A fire having occurred at Canterbury,
Gervasius, a Benedictine Monk, in 1174, consulted "French and English
Artificers," who disagreed in regard to the repair of the structure. The account which Gervaise gives is
highly interesting and instructing.
The work was given to William of Sens, "a man active, ready, and skillfull both
in 'wood and stone.'" "He delivered
models for shaping the stones, to the sculptors"; he reconstructed the choir and
made two rows, of five pillars on each side; but in the fifth year he was so
injured by the fall of his scaffold that he had to appoint as deputy a young
Monk "as Overseer of the Masons." When he found it necessary to return to
France the Masons were left to the oversight of William the Englishman, a man
"small in body, but in workmanship of many kinds acute and {314} honest."
The Nave was completed in 1180, and Gervaise informs us that in the old
structure everything was plain and wrought "with an axe," but in the new
exquisitely "sculptured with a chisel."

We
gather two points of information from this account of 1160; first we have the
information that William of Sens issued "Models" to the workmen, which explains
a law of the Masonic MSS. that no Master should give "mould" or rule to one not
a member of the Society; we see, in the second place, that the chisel was
superseding the axe. We will also
mention here that there is Charter evidence of this century, that Christian the
Mason, and Lambert the Marble Mason had lands from the Bishop of Durham for
services rendered. The fall of
Jerusalem in 1187 brought back from the East many artisans to the West, whose
influence is traceable in the early pointed style, or as it is termed the
"Lancet," or "Early English."

A
noteworthy movement, which extended to other countries had place in France at
this period. A shepherd of the name
of Benezet conceived the idea of building a bridge over the Rhone at Avignon;
the bishop supported his scheme and superintended its erection between 1171-88.
Upon Benezet's death, in 1184, Pope Clement III. canonised him, and sanctioned a
new Fraternity of Freres Pontives -- bridge builders.

In
1189, Fitz Alwine, Mayor of London, held his first assize, from which we learn
that the Master Carpenters and Masons of the City were to be sworn not to
prejudice the ancient rights ordained of the estates of the City.

Between
1189-1204 Bishop Lacey was engaged in adding to Winchester Cathedral.

There
are references worthy of note in Scotland at this time. In 1190 Bishop Jocelyne obtained a
Charter from William the Lion to establish a "Fraternity" to assist in raising
funds wherewith to erect the Cathedral of Glasgow; it is supposed to imply the
existence of a band of travelling Masons. The same bishop undertook the erection of
the Abbey of Kilwinning. The Templar
{315} Preceptory of Redd-Abbey Stead was erected at the same time, and an
ancient Lodge of Masons existed here last century.

In the
reign of John, 1200-16, about forty pious houses were erected. Hugh, Bishop of
Lincoln, about 1200, wrought with his own hands at the choir and transept of the
Cathedral, the designs being by Gaufrids de Noires, "constructor ecclesiae."
The Masons' Marks are numerous; and it is asserted by Brother Emra Holmes that,
from the central tower, may be seen three large figures of a monk, a nun, and an
angel, each displaying one of the signs of the three degrees of Masonry. The Cathedral has also an ancient stained
glass window, which has the double triangles in four out of six spaces, an
engraving of which appears in the "Historical Landmarks" of Brother George
Oliver. Brother Fort asserts that
the Masons of the middle ages must have received their technical education from
the Priories, and that a tendency continually reveals itself to use the abstruse
problems of Geometry as the basis of philosophical speculations, thus blending
the visible theorems with unseen operations of the spirit. He considers that the building operations
of the Masons were canvassed in the Lodge and worked out mathematically, the
plan of the building serving as the basis of instruction. These views mean in two words that
Masonry in all times was Operative and Speculative, but the identical system
prevails to-day in some still existing Stone Masons' Guilds.

In 1202
Godfrey de Lucy, Bishop of Winchester, formed a "Fraternity" for repairing his
church during the five years ensuing.
There is nothing to disclose the nature of these Fraternities; it may
mean no more than a committee for collecting the means, possibly the Masters'
Fraternities of the French may have given the idea. At this period Gilbert de Eversolde was
labouring at St. Albans' Abbey, as the architect, and Hugh de Goldcliffe is
called a deceitful workman. In 1204
the Abbey of Beaulieu in Hants was founded by King John, and {316} Durandus, a
Master employed on the Cathedral of Rouen, came over to it by request. In 1209 London Bridge, which was begun by
Peter de Colchurch, was completed.
There is a slab, of this period, in the transept of Marton Church, W.R.
Yorkshire, which has upon it a Calvary cross, a cross-hilted sword, and a
Mason's square and level, pointing to the union of arms, religion, and art.

In 1212
a. second Assize was held in London by Mayor Fitz Alwyne, when owing to a great
fire it was thought necessary to fix the wages.
At this time a horse or cow could be bought for four shillings. Masons were granted 3d. per day with
food, or 4 1/2d. without; Labourers had 1 1/2d. or 3d.; cutters of free-stone 2
1/2d. or 4d.; the terms used are "Cementarii," and "Sculptores lapidam
Liberorum." John died in 1216, and
Matthew of Paris, and others, write his epitaph: "Who mourns, or shall ever
mourn, the death of King John "; "Hell, with all its pollutions, is polluted by
the soul of John." (i. 288)

In the
reign of Henry III., 1216-72, thirty-two pious houses were erected, and the
Templars built their Domus Dei at Dover.
The beginning of this King's reign is the period when Laymen, emancipating
themselves from the Monasteries, come to the front as builders, and leaders of
working Masons. It is also the
commencement of a more highly finished style of pointed Gothic introduced by the
Masons who returned from Palestine.
During this reign flourished the celebrated Friar Roger Bacon, who, as
member of a sworn fraternity, gave himself to the investigation of the hidden
things of nature and science.

In the
reign of Henry III. the Monks of Teignmouth raised a masterpiece of architecture
in their new conventual church, which they completed by 1220, and were engaged
in constant contention with the claims to jurisdiction of the Bishops of Durham;
and then followed disputes with the burgesses of Newcastle, owing to the Monks
fostering the trade of North Shields.
The Prior's officers were in the habit of meeting those of the common
{317} law on the hill of Gateshead, or beneath a spreading oak in
Northumberland, when they came to hold assizes in Newcastle.

In 1220
the foundation of Salisbury Cathedral was laid by Bishop Poore; Robert was
Master Mason, and Helias de Berham, one of the Canons, employed himself on the
structure. Its base is the
Patriarchal cross, its erection occupied 38 years, and it is the only Gothic
cathedral in England built in one style of architecture.
The five-pointed star is found in the tracery of the arcades, and heads
of 32 windows, and the equilateral triangle is the basic design of the parapet.
In 1220 Peter, Bishop of Winchester, levelled the footstone of Solomon's porch
in Westminster Abbey. He is the same person as Peter de
Rupibus, a native of Poictiers, who served with Coeur de Lion in Palestine, and
was knighted by him, created Bishop of Winchester in 1204, Chief Justice in
1214, went on a Pilgrimage to Palestine and returned in 1231. Amongst his architectural labours is a
Dominican convent in Winchester; the Abbey of Pitchfield; part of Netley Abbey;
a pious house at Joppa; and the Domus Dei in Portsmouth. He died in 1238, and his effigy, which is
a recumbent figure in Winchester Cathedral, has the right hand on the left
breast, and his left hand clasping a book.<<Ars Quat. Cor.>>

From
1233-57 the "Close Rolls" give numerous details of the King's Masons who were
employed at Guildford, Woodstock, and Westminster. In 1253 the King had consultations with
Masons, "Franci et Angli." It is
also the period of origin of the "Geometrical" style.

There
is a document of 1258 which, though French, has an important bearing on English
Masonic legends, referring amongst other things to Charles Martel, and which,
though traditional, was accepted as sufficient to secure important freedoms.
In this year Stephen Boileau, Provost of the Corporation of Paris, compiled a
code of "Regulations concerning the arts and trades of Paris, {318} based upon
the Statements of the Masters of Guilds," and amongst these we find the
following in regard to the Masons, which gives them a double title to the term
"Free," for they were free-stone cutters and free of certain duties: xxi. The Masons ("Macons") and plasterers are
obliged to do guard duty, and pay taxes, and render such other services as the
other citizens of Paris owe to their King. xxii. The Mortar-Makers are free of guard duty,
as also every stone-cutter since the time of Charles Martel, as the ancients
("Prudolmes" or wise men) have heard, from father to son." The question arises here whether Masons
and setters, who, were not free of duty, though cutters and sculptors were, use
the term Carolus Secundus in England as a claim for the Masons and Setters. The Prudomes were the Wardens under the
"Master who rules the Craft," and we are further told that this Master had taken
his oath of service at the Palace, and afterwards before the Provost of Paris.
It is also said that, after six years' service the Apprentice appeared before
"the Master who keeps the Craft," in order to swear "by the Saints," to conform
to Craft usage. He thus became a
Journeyman, or Companion, but could not become a Master, and undertake the
entire erection of a building, until he had completed such a "Master-Piece" as
was appointed him, and which entailed much outlay; but if this was Passed he
became a member of the "Masters' Fraternity."
The difference between the Saxon and the French custom appears to be this: that
whilst in the former case the acceptance of a Master rested with the same
Assembly as that to which the Journeyman belonged, in the latter case the
Masters' Fraternity was now a separate body, with independent laws.
The custom of Montpelier, according to documents printed by Brother R. F.
Gould, would seem to have developed somewhat differently. Here, after an Apprentice had served
three years, he was placed for another four years to serve as a Journeyman,
under a Master. At the end of this
period he might present his Master-piece, and if it was approved he took the
oath to {319} the Provosts and only such sworn Master was permitted to erect a
building from the basement; but it was allowable for a Journeyman to undertake
small repairs. Thus as city customs
varied confusion must at times have arisen in journeying abroad. There is mention in 1287, when the
Cathedral of Upsala in Sweden was begun, that Etienne de Bonneuill took with him
from Paris "ten Master Masons and ten Apprentices"; possibly some of the Masters
or some of the Apprentices, were what we call Fellows, but there is nothing to
warrant any classification.
It is important to shew the secret nature and the import of the French
organisation, and Fraternities, and we quote the following from Brother J. G.
Findel's "History of Freemasonry": -- "The "Fraternities" existing as early as
the year 1189 were prohibited by the Council of Rouen ("cap." 25); and the same
was most clearly expressed at the Council of Avignon in the year 1326, where
("cap." 37) it is said that the members of the Fraternity met annually, bound
themselves by oath mutually to love and assist each other, wore a costume, had
certain well known and characteristic signs and countersigns, and chose a
president ("Majorem") whom they promised to obey." Nothing very vile in this.

In 1242
Prior Melsonby made additions to Durham Cathedral, and others were made by
Bishop Farnham before 1247, and by Prior Hoghton about 1290. At Newcastle the church of All Saints was
founded before 1296, and that of St. John in the same century. The church of St. Nicholas was rebuilt in
the 14th century, but the present tower only dates from the time of Henry VI. Clavel says that the seal of Erwin de
Steinbach, Chief Master of Cologne, 1275, bears the square and compasses with
the letter G.

Turning
to the North of England we find that at York in 1171, 1127, 1241, and 1291, the
choir, south transept, and nave of the Minster were either completed or in
course of erection, and the workmanship is infinitely superior to later portions
of the building. In 1270 the new
church of {320} the Abbey of St. Mary in York was begun by the Abbot Simon de
Warwick, who was seated in a chair with a trowel in his hand and the whole
convent standing around him. There
is also a Deed of 1277 with the seal of Walter Dixi, Cementarius, de Bernewelle,
which conveys lands to his son Lawrence; the legend is "S. Walter le Masun,"
surrounding a hammer between a half-moon and a five-pointed star. In this same year, 1277, Pope Nicholas
II. is credited with letters patent to the Masons confirming the freedoms and
privileges, said to have been granted by Boniface IV. in 614; if such a Bull was
issued, it has escaped discovery in recent times.

In
these somewhat dry building details it will have been noticed that references
are made to French designers, and to consultation with French and English
Masons, and with this enormous amount of building there must necessarily have
been a constant importation of French Masons, with the introduction of French
customs.

On the
symbolism of this period there are some interesting particulars in the
"Rationale" of Bishop Durandus, who died in 1296. The "tiles" signify the protectors of the
church; the "winding-staircase" "imitated from Solomon's temple" the hidden
knowledge; the "stones" are the faithful, those at the corners being most holy;
the "cement" is charity; the "squared stones" holy and pure have unequal burdens
to bear; the "foundation" is faith; the "roof" charity; the "door" obedience;
the "pavement" humility; the four "side walls" justice, fortitude, temperance,
prudence; hence the Apocalypse saith "the city lieth four square."<<"Ars Quat.
Cor.," x, p. 60.>> The custom is
Hindu, French, British.

In a
paper recently read before one of the learned Societies Professor T. Hayter
Lewis has shewn that the builders of the early "Pointed Gothic "of the 13th
century were of a different school to those who preceded them in the 12th
century; he shews that the Masons' marks, the style, and the methods of tooling
the stones, differ from the older work, and whilst the older was wrought with
diagonal tooling, the later was upright {321} with a claw adze. He traces these changes in methods and
marks through Palestine to Phoenicia.
This new style, he considers, was brought into this country by Masons who had
learned it amongst the Saracens, and though Masons' marks were in use in this
country long before they were now further developed on the Eastern
system.<<"Ibid," iii, also v, p. 296>> There is as well tangible evidence of the
presence of Oriental Masons in this country; two wooden effigies, said to be of
the time of the Crusades, were formerly in the Manor house of Wooburn in
Buckinghamshire, of which drawings were shewn to the Society of Antiquaries in
1814, and have recently been engraved in "Ars Quatuor Coronatorum."<<"Ibid,"
viii. 1895.>> These effigies are life size, one
represents an old man with quadrant and staff, the other a young man with square
and compasses, and "the attire, headdress, and even features, indicate Asiatic
originals." It has been thought that
the Moorish Alhambra at Grenada indicates the presence of Persian Masons, and we
find the translator of Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered" in every case substitutes
the word Macon for Mohammed, but this is only a provincial abbreviation for
Maometto.

Though
supported in a superior manner, the theory of Professor Hayter Lewis is not new
to Freemasonry, as in the 17th century Sir Wm. Dugdale, Sir Chris. Wren, and
others fix upon the reign of King Henry III. as the period when the Society of
Freemasons was introduced into England by Travelling Masons, protected by Papal
Bulls, and Wren is said to have added his belief that pointed Gothic was of
Saracenic origin, and that the bands resided in Huts near the erection upon
which they were working, and had a Warden over every ten men. But Elias Ashmole held that whilst such a
reorganisation actually took place, it was upon a Roman foundation. Dugdale probably derived his views from
some monastic document, or tradition, whilst Ashmole as a Mason, with better
information followed the old MS. Constitutions, as we {322} have done in these
chapters. Brother Gould is of
opinion that the alleged Bulls were given to the Benedictines and other monkish
fraternities who were builders, and that they only apply to Masons as members,
or lay brothers of the Monasteries; and, we may add, Templars.

It must
be clear to all who have eyes to see, that with this importation into England of
the foreign element a new series of legends were engrafted upon.the original
simple account of the old English Masons.
Such are the Charges of Nimrod, of David and Solomon, and of Charles Martel, and
though we have no MSS. of this period to confirm us, there is no doubt that they
are of this period; equally we have no contemporary text of the Charges by which
the newly imported Masons were ruled.
The information already given enables us to see that there was a
difference both in legends and laws between the two elements and that it was a
sectarian difference.

English
MSS., of more modern date, refer to "Books of Charges," where those of Nimrod,
of Solomon, of St. Alban, and of Athelstan are included, and if they actually
existed, as we see no reason to doubt, they were of this century. Moreover the references to Carolus
Secundus, or to Charles Martel, must be of this period (though there can be no
doubt that this refers to Carolus Magnus or Charlemagne) as small importations
of French Masons in Saxon times would not have influenced the older legends, nor
stood a chance of adoption by the English.
In regard to the laws by which the French Masons were governed, we are, however,
informed in the more modem MSS. that they differed but little, or "were found
all one" with the Roman, British, and Saxon Charges. It is very evident that the early foreign
element had a Charge of their own referring to Nimrod, David, Solomon, and
Charles of France, applicable to their own ceremonies, and that in England, they
united therewith the "Charges" of Euclid, St. Alban, and Athelstan in a
heterogeneous manner; and these are found in two, or more, MSS. to which we
refer {323} later, as having been approved by King Henry VI., and afterwards
made the general law.

There
is one piece of evidence which might enable us to settle certain difficult
points if we could rely upon it.
Professor Marks, a learned Jew, has stated that he saw in one of the public
libraries of this country a Commentary upon the Koran of the 14th century,
written in the Arabic language, with Hebrew characters, referring according to
his view, to Free Masonry, and which contained an anagrammatical sentence of
which each line has one of the letters M. O. C. H., and which he reads: "We have
found our Lord Hiram" (Chiram); but the Dervish Sects have a similar phrase,
which would read: "We have found in our Lord rest" (Kerim, or Cherim). We must therefore hold our minds in
reserve until the book has been re-found and examined.
In any case it seems to add a link to the chain of evidence as to the
Oriental origin of "our present Rites." We may feel assured that the Masons who
returned from the Holy-land were of a class calculated to make a marked
impression on the Society. The word
to which the foregoing alludes, in modern Arabic, might be translated "Child of
the Strong one." Several modern
writers, both Masons and non-Masons, hold to the opinion that there were two
Artists at the building of Solomon's temple: Huram the Abiv, who began the work,
and Hiram the son, who completed what his father had to leave undone.
Succoth, where the brass ornaments for the Temple were cast, signifies Booths or
Lodges, and Isaradatha means sorrow or trouble.<<Vide "Light from the Lebanon
Lodge." Joel Nash.>> Josephus says that Hiram was son of a
woman of the tribe of Napthali, and that his father was Ur of the Israelites. The account that we have of him, in the
Bible, is that he was expert in dyeing, and in working in gold, and in brass;
which makes him a chemist and metallurgist, rather than a Mason. There were many Arts in which the
ancients were our superiors. A very
important {324} lecture on this point has recently appeared from the pen of the
Rev. Bro. M. Rosenbaum.

After
this long digression we will return to architecture in general. Mr. Wyatt Papworth points out the use of
the term Ingeniator, in various documents, between 1160-1300 referring to
castles repaired or constructed.
Some of these were undoubtedly Architects and not Engineers, whose duties were
the construction of warlike machines; and though gunpowder had not yet come into
use in this country, the connection with Masoning might, at a later period, lead
to the introduction of Marcus Graecus into our MSS.

In the
reign of Edward I., 1272-1307, Merton College in Oxford, the cathedral of
Norwich and twenty pious houses were founded; the noble Gothic style had reached
its climax. Between 1291-4 several
crosses were erected; and there are mentions of Masons who were employed by the
King, some items of expense refer to timber, "to make a Lodge for Master Michael
and his Masons." Peter de Cavalini
designed the "Eleanor Crosses;" the one in Cheapside was begun by Richard de
Crumble, and completed by Roger de Crumble; it was of three stories, decorated
with Niches having Statues executed by Alexander le Imaginator. A still more beautiful one was the
Charing Cross. From 1290-1300 West
Kirkby Church was building, and the Marks are recorded by Brother Rylands, as
well as those of Eastham, and Sefton Churches.<<"Ars Quat. Cor." vii.>>
In 1300 Henry the Monk, surnamed Lathom, Latomus, -- Mason or Stone-cutter,
rebuilt part of the Abbey of Evesham.
In 1303 the Mayor and 24 Aldermen of London, made ordinances for the regulation
of the Carpenters, Masons and labourers; the Mayor was Gregory de Rokeslie, and
the Mazounes Mestres, or Master Masons, and Master Carpenters are mentioned, in
conjunction with their servants.
From 1308-26 William Boyden was employed in erecting The Chapel of the Virgin at
the Abbey of St. Albans. {325}

In the
reign of Edward II., 1307-27, Exeter and Oriel Colleges in Oxford, Clare Hall in
Cambridge, and eight pious houses were built.
During this King's reign we have the advent of the "Curvilinear," or
"Decorated" style, which held its ground for near a century.
In 1313 the Knights Templars were suppressed with great brutality in France; in
England their property was confiscated to the Knights of St. John, their leading
Preceptories being at London, Warwick, Walsden, Lincoln, Lindsey, Bollingbroke,
Widine, Agerstone, York, Temple-Sowerby, Cambridge, etc.; they were distributed
throughout the Monasteries, or joined the Knights of St. John; those of York had
lenient treatment by Archbishop Greenfield, and were relegated to St. Mary's
adjacent to the Culdee hospital of St. Leonard. Their Lay brethren, amongst whom would be
a numerous body of Masons, were liberated; a circumstance from which might
spring more than a traditional connection.
Some of the Knights returned to Lay occupations, and even married to the great
annoyance of the Pope. In Scotland
the Knights, aided in their aims by the wars between that country and England,
retained their Preceptories and though they seem to have united with the Order
of St. John in 1465 they were as often distinguished by one name as the other. The Burg-laws of Stirling have the
following in 1405, -- "Na Templar sall intromet with any merchandise or gudes
pertaining to the gilde, be buying and selling, within or without their awn
lands, but giff he be ane gilde brother."<<"Freem. Mag." xvi, p. 31.>>
Thus implying that the Knights had actual membership with the Guilds. The Templars, at the like date (1460) are
mentioned in Hungary.<<Malczovich -- "Ars Quat, Cor." Yarker.
Also 1904, p. 240.>> In Portugal their innocence of the
charges brought against them was accepted, but to please the Pope their name was
changed to Knights of Christ. In an
old Hungarian town, where the Templars once were, the Arms are a wheel on which
is the Baptist's head on a charger. {326}